On December 28, 1886, the patent of the first prototype of the dishwasher was registered.
The dishwasher was invented by Josephine Cochrane, a wealthy American socialite, who was upset that her servants were constantly breaking the family's expensive china during the wash.
Before Cochrane's dishwasher, there were two dishwashers invented by men, but they were very unsuccessful and in practice failed to clean the dishes at all. That's why Cochrane said, "If no one else is going to invent a dishwasher, I'll do it myself!"
The dishwasher she invented was operated manually, and consisted of a copper meter inside which a wheel that turned with the help of an electric motor. An iron mesh was mounted on the wheel, with space for plates, cups and cutlery. As the wheel turned, hot water was sprayed on the dishes with soap from above, and then only hot water.
Cochrane unveiled her dishwasher at the World Fair in 1893 and sold it to friends, hotels and restaurants, but housewives showed no enthusiasm for her invention and she failed to take off. Cochrane eventually sold her company to Hobart, one of the inventors of the popular "Kitchen Aid" brand. It was not until the 1950s that dishwashers began to be sold in the United States and by the 1970s they had already become standard in American households.
Josephine Cochrane died of a stroke or exhaustion in Chicago, Illinois, on August 14, 1913, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Shleville, Illinois when she was 72. In 2006 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
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| In the photo: a stamp issued in Romania in 2013 with the character of Josephine Cochrane, the inventor of the dishwasher |
December 28 is also Card Games Day