AWAD - hoover
Today's word is hoover, after the industrialist William Henry Hoover (1849-1932). Earliest documented use: 1934.
NOTES:
Have you suction-swept your place this week? What? Before there was Hoover, there was the Electric Suction Sweeper Company. It was founded by a janitor/inventor, James Murray Spangler, in Ohio. His was not the first vacuum, but it was the first practical one. He showed it to his cousin, Susan Hoover, who told her husband and son about it, and they bought into the business.
The company started a subsidiary in the UK and the US company was eventually sold to others. As a result, the word hoover as a synonym for a vacuum is common mostly in the UK. If you thought there should be a hovering hoover, you are not alone. In the 1950s the company made a vacuum named Hoover Constellation that kinda hovered.
If you have already started thinking about what to give to women in your life this holiday season, consider this Hoover ad from 1940. It suggests men give their mothers, wives, and daughters a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. “You can show that devotion by giving each of them the same gift ... a Hoover Cleaner.” Good old times! Showing appreciation for three generations of women in the family with a thoughtful, practical gift! Of course, Hoover was not the only one. The ad was a product of its time. Check out this Sears vacuum cleaner ad.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/hoover.html
AWAD - hoover
Today's word is hoover, after the industrialist William Henry Hoover (1849-1932). Earliest documented use: 1934.
NOTES:
Have you suction-swept your place this week? What? Before there was Hoover, there was the Electric Suction Sweeper Company. It was founded by a janitor/inventor, James Murray Spangler, in Ohio. His was not the first vacuum, but it was the first practical one. He showed it to his cousin, Susan Hoover, who told her husband and son about it, and they bought into the business.
The company started a subsidiary in the UK and the US company was eventually sold to others. As a result, the word hoover as a synonym for a vacuum is common mostly in the UK. If you thought there should be a hovering hoover, you are not alone. In the 1950s the company made a vacuum named Hoover Constellation that kinda hovered.
If you have already started thinking about what to give to women in your life this holiday season, consider this Hoover ad from 1940. It suggests men give their mothers, wives, and daughters a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. “You can show that devotion by giving each of them the same gift ... a Hoover Cleaner.” Good old times! Showing appreciation for three generations of women in the family with a thoughtful, practical gift! Of course, Hoover was not the only one. The ad was a product of its time. Check out this Sears vacuum cleaner ad.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/hoover.html