Show Notes
Laundry once took a full day of hard labour—before the washing machine changed everything.Water had to be carried, clothes scrubbed by hand, wrung out, and then hung to dry. In the mid-1800s, the first washing machines began to appear in the homes of the wealthy, marking the start of a quiet domestic revolution. What once consumed a full day of exhausting work can now be done in under an hour. This is the story of how a single invention transformed everyday life and reshaped domestic labour.
More from Anthony Burke's By Design
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There is evidence that chopsticks existed in the Neolithic period. That's around 10,000 years of evolution in design. From a cooking tool to a symbol of status, identity and social customs, the chopstick has remained a tried-and-tested utensil, but what do its various evolutions say about the people who used it and the times they lived in?
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Protecting our skin from the sun is a design challenge that spans centuries. From glacier cream to Slip! Slop! Slap!, how has sunscreen evolved to meet changing lifestyles, technologies and health concerns?