Shows A - Z : How's That Work? : Air Conditioner, Vacuum Cleaner, Motion Lamp : Home & Garden Television

Air Conditioner, Vacuum Cleaner, Motion Lamp
First, in 1902, a young man named Willis Carrier was working for a heating company. One foggy night, he began to think about how to create a machine that would control humidity and temperature. Four years later, Carrier had a patent for a device that did just that. Then, in 1907, a department-store janitor named James Murray Spangler was really fed up with his persistent cough. He felt it was caused by all of the dust he stirred up while sweeping the floors, so he decided to create a contraption with an old sewing-machine motor, a soapbox and a pillowcase. This led to his vacuum cleaner invention that he called "the suction sweeper." Finally, in the early 1950s, in England, a retired royal air force pilot named Edward Craven entered a pub and noticed a glass cocktail shaker filled with oil and water that was heated with a light bulb at the bottom. By 1963, he had figured out how it worked, made his own contraption and began selling liquid motion lamps. They were a huge hit and have been ever since! In the 1990s alone, more were sold than the in '60s, '70s and '80s combined!

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