Just some fun history as I think of how difficult it would be to clean carpeting and other surfaces for that matter, without a vacuum cleaner. I have found my favorite vacuums. What is your favorite brand/model of vacuum?
The first hand-powered cleaner using vacuum principles may have been the "Whirlwind", invented in Chicago in 1865.
The first powered cleaner employing a vacuum was patented by H. Cecil Booth, a British engineer, in 1901. He noticed a device used in trains that blew dust off the chairs, and thought it would be much more useful to have one that sucked dust. He tested the idea by laying a handkerchief on the seat of a dinner chair, putting his mouth to it and sucking hard. He nearly choked, but upon seeing the dust and dirt collected on the underside of the handkerchief he realized the idea could work.
Booth worked to create a device operating on such principles, and patented such a machine in Britain: the large device, known as the Puffing Billy, was drawn by horses and parked outside the building to be cleaned; suction was then provided by an internal-combustion engine burning petrol (gasoline). However, Booth never achieved great success with his invention.
What is your favorite vacuum cleaner? Why?
