I was only four years old when I saw my mother load a washing machine for the very first time in her life.
That was a great day for my mother. My mother and father had been saving money for years to be able to buy that machine, and the first day it was going to be used, even Grandma was invited to see the machine.
And Grandma was even more excited. Throughout her life she had been heating water with firewood, and she had hand washed laundry for seven children. And now she was going to watch electricity do that work.
My mother carefully opened the door, and she loaded the laundry into the machine, like this.
And then, when she closed the door, Grandma said, “No, no, no, no. Let me, let me push the button.”
And Grandma pushed the button, and she said, “Oh, fantastic! I want to see this! Give me a chair! Give me a chair! I want to see it,” and she sat down in front of the machine, and she watched the entire washing program.
She was mesmerized. To my grandmother, the washing machine was a miracle.
Still Hans Rosling: “See, Hans, when the washing machine washes our clothes that gives us time to read books” said my mother, and we went to the library.
(That’s paraphrasing from Factfulness; as far as knowing the effects of industrial progress goes it’s a great book.)
Hans Rosling:
Still Hans Rosling: “See, Hans, when the washing machine washes our clothes that gives us time to read books” said my mother, and we went to the library.
(That’s paraphrasing from Factfulness; as far as knowing the effects of industrial progress goes it’s a great book.)