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Title: Toilets, Toasters & Telephones: The How and Why of Everyday Objects by Susan Goldman Rubin, Elsa Warnick, Linda Zuckerman ISBN: 0-15-201421-7 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A new look at the terribly common
Comment: Most people, children and adults, use certain objects every day: toilets, sinks, pencils, bathtubs and stoves. Familiarity breeds... if not contempt, then the ability to ignore things. These objects have become such common fixtures in our lives that we hardly even notice them (that is, until they break or stop working!!). However, as common as they may be, there was a time not so terribly long ago when they didn't even exist at all. "Toilets, Toasters & Telephones" outlines the history and invention of some of these very common objects that we use ever day.
Beginning with a chapter on bathrooms and the invention of toilets, sinks and bathtubs, Ms. Rubin takes us through the who, when and where of these object's creation. Yes, Virginia, there really was a John Crapper who developed a flushing toilet in 1872. He went on to invent the tank for holding the water and was even promoted to being the royal plumber. At one point he "installed more than thirty toilets in Sandringham Castle for Queen Victoria's son Edward, Prince of Wales. A Book about Crapper was called *Flushed with Pride*".
Throughout the book Ms. Rubin discusses basic design and manufacture principals and history. The toaster, for example, arose out of a need to make toast without a burning fire, and the first ones made by General Electric in 1909 were made of a wire-heating element on a porcelain base (the toaster needed to be unplugged or else the toast would burn). At one point, toaster manufactures (and presumably other manufacturers of household objects) designed their product with "planned obsolescence" in mind. This meant that they would revamp the design each year so that consumers would buy the newest, newfangled toaster and toss out the old one, even if it was working fine. This would in turn make more money for the company. I'm sure this is a practice still in operation today--"hey! This thing broke!! I guess I'd better go buy a NEW one!!"
Intended for younger audiences between 9-12, this is a combination history and social studies book. A number of objects in the pages still exist, but not at all like their first generation prototypes: phones and refrigerators have changed a LOT since their invention, and the chapter on typewriters may very well be the first exposure computer savvy children have to these machines ("where's the hard drive?" one of my students once asked me).
The text is well written and flows very logically from beginning to end. There are some dryly funny moments, like the above-mentioned book, "Flushed with Pride" or early reports of people using the first shower. Generally, though, this is a scholarly work for young children that not only tells about the history of these great inventions, but also encourages children to look at the common with new eyes.
The book is generously illustrated with photos of objects from the past, some of which are hardly recognizable next to their modern counterparts: a clothes iron that required charcoal and a hand bellows, for example. Some of the captions for the illustrations are a little thin on text, making the reader wish there was more explained just how this thing was supposed to work. However, outside of museums of technology, children are not likely to encounter these ancient objects, so it's worth pouring over the photographs of common objects long gone. For teachers, parents or students who wish to go above and beyond and read MORE about these objects and their inventors, there is an extensive bibliography at the back of the book.
Ms. Rubin has clearly done her homework and provided students and adults alike with a book that is both informative and entertaining. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderful and fascinating look into how things work
Comment: I know the author quite well, and let me say that this is by far the best book she has ever produced. It is brilliantly written, with pictures that back up the information in indescribable ways. Please, I encourage everyone, kids and adults alike, to read this book!
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Title: The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet by Julie L. Horan, Deborah Frazier ISBN: 0806519479 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi ISBN: 0786808284 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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