3: Why Don't They Design This?

In the world of American 1950s inventions, even regular housewives felt like they were just a step away from a genius patent and great success. But were their ideas any good?  

[AW-uvcb]

Both of my parents come from the countryside and later moved to Warsaw to study at university. As late as the 60s, my dad would travel to his school across Poland by a steam train. My mum told me that deodorants and sanitary pads only became available in the 70s for her. I still remember when communism ended and suddenly all those new things were available: the first time we bought a coconut and didn't know how to eat it, lol. Or a fresh pineapple. Oranges to this day evoke Christmastime to me, because for so long they were only available in that season and were a treat. And the arrival of cable TV and all those german channels with ads of amazing toys we didn't have. Ah, nostalgia!

[mikestergios]

Confession
I was born in 1952, so I remember at least the later 50s. I remember when my parents bought our first television which had a tiny black & white screen about 8” across, and we had our choice of two channels.
One of the main principles our parents instilled in us was gratitude for everything we had. They were products of the Great Depression and the rationing of WW2. By today’s standards we were probably lower middle class; but gratitude made us feel privileged to have what we possessed.

[hallamshire]

I was talking to a group of people who were all 80+ years old. They talked about the fruit truck, the milk truck, and the bread truck that used to deliver food to their homes growing up. Sounds like an old-school version of grubhub or instacart.

[caseyoung]

the light inside the purse would be a huge help for women at night, if you're alone or in a dangerous place and need to find your keys/phone/mace quickly- especially being triggered by opening the top, it's genius.

[SSCgal]

Textory is history with a side of pastry.

[sparky]

People definitely had the innovation mind set in America in the 1950's & 1960's. Even when I was growing up in the 1960's & '70's, a common phrase/question was; "If we can send a man to the Moon, why can't we...?".

[Dont_Tell_Anyone_Its_Me]

The tricycle-lawnmower made me laugh, because now we have baby mops, and although I don't recommend, the thought process is still the same : "my child is doing a lot of goings and comings, how do I make this into something useful ?"

[aronc]

Also, can confirm as an American that we basically pretend combo washer and dryer doesn’t exist here. Like, you have to ship them from other places if you are the rare person to think of it. I’ve been in multiple strong discussions about their existence alone. Drives me crazy. 😅

[sillyjellyfish]

For breaking in shoes - you can ask a shoemaker (or try doing it on your own) to do that for you. The general idea is to take a small hammer or mallet and smack the back of the shoe from the inside until the leather softens up and becomes less stiff. I had that done years ago on my at the time favourite pair of sandals i couldn't wear without putting 2 layers of bandaids on my heels first and just like that in few minutes they were soft and maleable and fit like a glove, moving with my heels instead of stiffly rubbing against them.

[Kree.B.]

My history teacher ran an invention competition every year as our final for the class. We needed to right it up like we were patenting it. He also chose 1 kid to take to our state capital to patent their idea. I don't know if any of the patents were ever invented, but this was in the late 90's and I know part of my idea and other kids ideas are things now that weren't then. I wonder if he got the idea from his mom or grandma's old magazines?

[helza]

Reusable tissues? I think they mean a handkerchief 🤣

[jc_the_green]

About the purse light, I'd totally use that. I constantly have to use my phone flashlight to see the contents of my bag and find stuff

[emilym]

My grandpa had so many do dads in his garage that he made especially to solve problems he had around the house. People had more time to be inventive or were used to coming up with things to make their lives easier

[Essie-vsrr]

Thank you Karolina for sharing these stories with us, I feel like it’s bittersweet for me to hear about things from the past, because I wasn’t there to see them, but I’m so grateful that I’m able to hear them.

[thoughtsofelizabeth]

Interesting fact. I imagine that space in homes in Europe are getting smaller as the population goes up but that is not entirely the case in the US. Homes have been getting bigger over here over the decades. In the 50s, homes were about 1700 square feet. Today, excluding the tiny-home movement, homes are about 2200 square feet. Add to that that people are having fewer children, the average square foot per person is much higher than it was in the 50s.

Of course, that's assuming you can afford to buy a house. Or even afford rent.

[wherefancytakesme]

Today I learned there are washer/dryer machines.

Also I was reminded of the Snuggie.

[aronc]

Honestly favorite episode yet. I love listening to the real invention ideas. Gave me those Disney shorts with all the ridiculous inventions but smart.

[silubr]

16:27 Ice cream forks are actually rather cool. They’re kind of halfway between a spoon and a fork: basically a spork.

[sparky]

In the 1950's, many appliances, such as washers & dryers & pre-made food or partially made food, became popular in American homes that saved housewives time & effort, which freed women up to work away from home, leading to extensive social & cultural change.

[Tomear]

This is the perfect background podcast, funny and educationnal ?

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