Household appliances have made our lives very comfortable. The fridge takes care of keeping our food fresh, and the washing machine takes care of our clothes. Each home appliance has its own task that they complete dutifully. But what if you only need one machine to wash your clothes and dishes? Or get your dog washed as well? Or something to tell you when you are running low on eggs?
Believe it or not, some people think the classical ways are not enough, and the appliances need to do more than their assigned task. Thus, allow us to take you on a journey to discover some of the most bizarre home appliances ever invented.
The stove that came with a cutting board
The idea itself is not bad, as you can easily chop things and casually add chopped food to the pots and pans without having to move around too much. Our only worry is that the wooden cutting board seems too close to the gas hob. For safety reasons, we prefer having everything separately in our kitchen. What do you think?
A refrigerator that plays music
For people who like to listen to music often, this next invention sounds great. In the 1930s in America, every household already had a radio. The radio manufacturers found it harder and harder to sell their products. Yet they noticed something that was selling well – the refrigerator. That is how, in 1937, a refrigerator-radio combination was invented.
At that time, this invention seemed like a great idea. It was targeted especially for housewives. The marketing message was that most households had their radios in the living rooms, and this way, it was not necessary for the woman to go back and forth to adjust the volume or switch the program.
Yet this product never gained popularity because, in the end, it was very impractical. Plus, buying a fridge and radio separately was still a cheaper option. Some things are just not meant to be together.
The marriage of the refrigerator and a stove
From a home appliance maintenance point of view, it is very impractical. If one of these parts fails, you lose both of the household appliances. Imagine the stove fails, and you need to send it to repair. And you can’t use the fridge! We are relieved to say that these two ended up in a divorce.
Television combo with a mini bar
Dishwasher that cleaned clothes
Who needs perfume when your clothes could smell like last night’s dinner?
That was our initial thought when we discovered this invention. The idea of having just one machine to do all the cleaning is not a bad one. Less is more, isn’t it? Maybe not always. We cannot imagine putting our white t-shirts together with greasy plates covered with oil, sauce, and spices to be washed in the same machine.
A patent for this idea was already filed in the the 1890s by Margaret A. Wilcox. But it took a while to get this invention out there, and the first hybrid dishwasher and washing machine only appeared in the mid-1940s. Yet, it did not have too much success. The last version of the machine was produced in 1955.
It is better this way. Ketchup-covered shirts are not very fashionable.
The Dog Washing Machine
Oh, but wait, we have something more. If you’re not sure how many eggs you have in the fridge, you can also buy an automatic egg counter. This way, you never have to look in the fridge to see how many eggs you have. You can look at the app on your phone connected to the egg counter. We don’t know about you, but we have been very satisfied with our eyes doing the counting for us completely free.
In the world of household appliances, innovation knows no boundaries. As we wrap up this exploration of the strangest home appliances ever invented, we’re left wondering: What’s the weirdest home appliance you’ve encountered? Would you purchase any of these?
