DON'T MAKE ME MAD :)
You know what makes me mad? People who get slighted. Those kind resourceful people who get pigeonholed into low status positions because they are more resourceful than source full.
Take for example the "handyman". A person who gets called in to fix something which has been broken, altered, or become potentially dangerous. The called upon handyman goes into a house, metaphorically saves a life (because the homeowner just can't DIY good enough), and then goes back home waiting for his next assignment.
Here is how wikipedia describes a handyman:
"Generally the job of paid handyman is low status, a semi-skilled labor job. It's a less prestigious occupation than a specialist such as a plumber, electrician, or carpenter. With the emergence of large national chains, an effort is being made to change that perception, by emphasizing professionalism and the fact that a handyman is actually a technician with multiple skills and a wide range of knowledge. At the same time, unpaid homeowners skilled at repairs are valued for saving money."
I started out this week writing about the "Domestic Technician", a person who is a creator of technology in the domestic realm. I like using the term Domestic Technologist over the popular term Domestic Engineer - because to me, an engineer is more of a scientist who is constantly in movement creating new things. Whereas a technician is in the process of perfecting something which already was. Semantics, I know.
Handymen (and women) are Domestic Technicians of the finest calibre who are often low paid and undervalued for what they do. Yet, we can attribute many of our modern day conveniences to them.
Consider Joseph C. Gayetty inventor of... toilet paper.
JOSEPH C. GAYETTY
While we do not know for certain if Mr. Gayetty was a handyman per say, what we do know is he was not necessarily rich (had you ever heard of him?). Having lived at between 1810-1895, Joseph is credited with the invention of toilet paper.
The first everyday toilet paper was made out of manilla hemp, while other types of Gayetty paper were conditioned with aloe and sold as an anti-hemorrhoidal. Gayetty spent much of his career as toilet paper creator in court battling it out over copyrights regarding his very own last name, which used to be printed on each and every sheet of paper.
Imagine being that guy the next time you wipe - the guy who could have had his name printed on every single square of toilet paper and having gone down in history as the father of the greatest invention of all time, but thanks to legalities no one even knows your name.
DR. HIRAM N. WADSWORTH
Have you brushed your teeth recently? If so, you can thank another unsung Domestic Technician/handyman/hero, Dr. Hiram Wadsworth.
I came across Dr. Wadsworth while I was looking up the United States patent on toothbrush design. Here is an excerpt from the good Doctor's Obituary:
"... Dr. Wadsworth located in Washington City in 1850, where he practiced continuously for over forty years, until ill health obliged him to retire in 1893. During all that long period he occupied a most prominent place in his profession. Few have enjoyed the patronage of such a distinguished clientele, his patrons being from among the most distinguished circles in civil, military and diplomatic life and it was his good fortune to command not merely their confidence and patronage, but to enjoy their respect and esteem as well. He was kind and affable ; social, genial, yet dignified; a polished, courteous gentleman, and a splendid example of the true professional man. His motto throughout all his practice was, "The very best which I can possibly do is none too good for my patients."
What an outstanding purveyor of domestic technology. I applaud you sir.
According to Science Illustrated, toothbrushing dates back as early as 3000 BC, when ancient Egyptians and Babylonians would use "chew sticks" thin twigs with frayed edges, to brush their teeth. Even though the first bristle brush used on teeth was invented in China in 1498 made of boar bristles attached to either bamboo or bone, we can thank Dr. Wadsworth for patenting our modern toothbrush in 1857 (which let's be honest hasn't really changed).
If you are ever at an antique store and find a funny looking hairy toothbrush, chances are it was manufactured before 1938 precisely as Dr. Wadsworth designed.
This copper frying pan dates 10th to 3rd century B.C. found in the Archeological Museum of Thessaloniki.
THE FRYING PAN
So here it is 11:27 pm on Monday, January 19th and I am writing my blog post for Tuesday the 20th. It's late! But the more I research everyday household items which have changed our lives, I can't help but become more and more energized! Take the frying pan for example, that everyday kitchen tool we grumble about as we scour it clean... did you know it was ANCIENT?!
Evidently copper frying pans are Mesopotamian in origin (the one pictured dates 10th to 3rd B.C) and were rather BEAUTIFUL - isn't it gorgeous? It has a carved goose neck and everything. Long before the kitchen stove was invented, mankind was ordering up fried eggs with a little soot on the side - who knew?
THE "GREATS"
Now. I think I would be remiss not to mention at least some of the notable inventors/Domestic Technicians of our modern era who were successfully publicized, monetized and notarized.
Inventors like Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, Eli Whitney, the list goes on and on. There have been some great men (and women, just not as many) who have permanently changed the way we live in our homes:
Thomas Edison: The lightbulb, the motion picture camera +++
Benjamin Franklin: Harnessing electricity, the library chair, the rocking chair, bifocal glasses +++
Thomas Jefferson: The revolving bookstand, the swivel chair (which I am guessing inspired the 'lazy Susan') +++
Alexander Graham Bell: The telephone +
George Washington Carver: Peanut butter +
Eli Whitney: The Cotton Gin +
All great men who did great things which impacted our daily lives on a grand scale, thank you.
WHY NOT MORE WOMEN?
Leila McNeill's quote from yesterday's post is still ringing in my ears: "Many of us conceptualize technology through a modern—and limited—framework of automation, computerization, and digitization. So when we look to the past, we highlight the inventions that appear to have led to where we are today—which forces us to overlook much of the domestic technology that has made our everyday living more efficient. [we] usually associate technology with males, which is just false.
For over a century, the domestic sphere has been coded as female, the domain of women, while science, engineering, and the workplace at large has been seen as the realm of men. These associations persist even today, undermining the inventive work that women have done in the domestic sphere."
While I contemplate the above list of rather noted scientists and specialists in their fields, not only are there not any women listed - the men mentioned were not your ordinary everyday handyman. These Titans of Industry, these Revolutionaries of the Domestic, devoted their entire lives to the study and science of their "thing". They solved big problems with an equal amount of BIG focus. A type of focus most stay-at-home women or everyday handymen do not have the luxury to possess.
Women like Ellen Elgin and Sarah Goode. Two African American women who helped shape history, women who saw needs and worked to fill them regardless of the recognition.
ELLEN ELGIN
According to resources, in 1888 Ellen Elgin invented the hand crank clothes wringer. A machine in which the hard working laundry washer would take wet clothes and then feed in between two rollers which were connected to a crank. After placing the wet articles of clothing into the crank, one would turn the handle and "wring" out all excess water. Genius!
I am sure the thought probably crossed her mind as she was wringing out her hundred thousandth article of clothing dreaming up a better way of doing things. Ellen never received any profits from the machine as she sold the rights to an agent for $18.
SARAH E GOODE
Sarah Goode however was different. Sarah Goode became the first African American woman to hold a United States patent.
Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs was born in 1850 in Toledo, Ohio. Sarah, the second of seven children was born into slavery and was the daughter of a carpenter, Oliver Jacobs. When the Civil War ended in America, Sarah was granted her freedom and she moved with her family to Chicago.
While in Chicago Sarah met and married her husband "Archie" Goode who was both a stair builder and upholsterer. Sarah, in her newly freed life not only gave birth to six children she also opened up her own furniture store where she invented among other things, the "Cabinet Bed" which was the precursor to the Murphy bed.
"At the time of her invention, housing in New York City was expanding upwards, but became restricted in 1885 when New York City passed a law that restricted buildings to be under 80 feet, as to combat commercial buildings becoming too tall. This law began propping up the tenement system since it limited residential buildings being built higher, which in turn short circuited the housing structure for middle class workers. Average sizes of tenements were about 25 feet wide and 100 feet long. In these environments, every foot was important, and saving space was necessary. Goode heard of this problem in her furniture store in Chicago from customers, and set out to make a solution. Goode's bed could be folded up, and it looked like a desk, with room for storage. Her goal was to balance out the weight of the folding of the bed for it to be easily lifted up, folding and unfolding and to secure the bed on each side so that when folding the bed it would stay in its place. She provided supplementary support to the center of the bed when it is unfolded." - Wikipedia
IN CONCLUSION
Whether you call a man like Thomas Edison a brilliant scientist, or an exceptionally well educated handyman, makers of the home as Domestic Technicians are each and everyone of us.
Every single person who has sat on the toilet with a sheet of Gayetty in hand while simultaneously looking at a pile of dirty clothes and thought to themselves "there has to be a better way" about making a change in their home - and then goes about doing it - has contributed to the well being of their personal environment, and the environment of others.
Sometimes when it feels as if we can't do very much to make a difference in the big big world, we can make a change which matters most, a change for the best at home.
Friends! Tomorrow I will be highlighting accounts throughout instagram and online which have outstanding organization or multipurpose capacities - you won't want to miss it! I can't wait to share!
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