The first portable electric vacuum cleaner was built by a janitor who sold his patent to Hoover

historyWikipedia1907 · Canton, Ohio, USA

The first portable electric vacuum cleaner was built by a janitor who sold his patent to Hoover

the gist

The first portable electric vacuum cleaner was invented by James Murray Spangler, a department store janitor in Canton, Ohio. He built a machine with an electric fan that blew dirt into a soap box, with a pillowcase as a filter, and added a rotating brush to loosen debris. Spangler obtained a patent in 1908 for his Electric Suction Sweeper but lacked the money to produce it, so he sold the patent to William Henry Hoover, a leather goods maker. Hoover redesigned it with a steel casing, casters and attachments and founded the company that became the Hoover Company. Earlier machines used bellows or blown air, and the first powered suction cleaners appeared in 1901 in Britain and the US. Vacuum cleaners remained a luxury until after the Second World War. In 1997 Electrolux demonstrated the first autonomous robotic vacuum, the Trilobite.

how it works

A motor-driven fan lowers air pressure inside the machine, so higher-pressure air outside pushes dust and air through the nozzle and into a collection bag or container. Early cleaners blew air instead, and later designs added brushes to loosen dirt and filters to trap fine particles.

so what

The vacuum cleaner shows how an everyday tool came from a working person's invention and was refined by a businessman who could manufacture it. It remains one of the most widely used household appliances.

fun fact

The Hoover company's beater bar, introduced in 1919, was advertised with the slogan It beats as it sweeps as it cleans.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗