Did you know the humble broom was not even perfected until the year 1797? A farmer from Massachusetts decided to create one that worked properly after watching his wife struggle to sweep. Soon, his broom, known as broomcorn, became a household name. Of course, as time went by, people got lazier! A few new sweepers and brooms came and went, and it wasn’t until the 1860s when Daniel Hess created the first real vacuum cleaner. According to his patent: “The nature of my invention consists in drawing fine dust and dirt through the machine by means of a draft of air.”

Then, in 1869, Ives McGaffey of Chicago took it even further. Although, his design was actually harder to use than a regular broom. His patent reads: “The accumulation of dust and dirt/in dwelling-houses is a source of great annoyance to all good housekeepers… to obviate these difficulties is the object of my invention.” Sadly, his invention did not take off.

Many designs came and went. But it was James Murray Spangler who revolutionized the vacuum cleaner. A Humble Janitor, aged 60, living in Canton, Ohio, James slaved away to perfect his design. It even took a toll on his health. His machine was better than the rest because not only was it upright, but it was also portable. The crude machine worked well, sucking dirt and blowing it out the back into the attached pillowcase. Spangler patented it in 1907 and quit his job, opening the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.

“It used a ceiling fan motor and paddle blades to create the air flow… he used a leather belt and journaled it to a rotating brush that he had gotten out of a carpet sweeper… No one was able to get the carpet that clean because they didn’t have a motor driven brush.“

The Hoover was then born when he ran into financial trouble, selling his company to his cousin, Susan Hoover!