Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Oldest working electric hairdryer: British hairdryer set world record
PAIGNTON, Devon, UK--An 80-year-old electric hairdryer, made by a Siemens branch in Britain, remains in perfect working order and, according to its owner, retired insurance company director John Wilcox, it has never broken down or even needed a service
, setting the world record for the Oldest working electric hairdryer.
Photo: Kay Wilcox shows off the 1930s Bakerlite hairdryer, The World's Oldest working electric hairdryer.
(enlarge photo)
Weighing a hefty 2lb the dryer's only controls are on/off and hot/cold. It came with a Bakelite carry-case – now slightly cracked – complete with a vanity mirror.
The brown Bakelite item's only concession to technological advances has been a new plug – and only then because its original round-pin type became obsolete.
Though Siemens is a German firm, according to the engineering history website Grace's Guide, it established Siemens Electric Lamps and Supplies Ltd in Britain in 1931 to manufacture domestic appliances such as this dryer.
Mr Wilcox, 83, from Paignton, Devon, recalls watching his mother Florrie use it at the family home in Birmingham, 70 years ago.
Portraits of Florrie, spanning five decades, show her sporting a variety of hairstyles.
His wife Kay, 73, who is a hairstylist, says the portraits indicate when the machine arrived in the household.
They progress from an unfettered look in her teens to a more structured cut. 'Having an electric hairdryer in the Thirties was still a luxury for women,' said Mrs Wilcox.
The Guinness world record for the oldest steam engine in working order was set by the Smethwick Engine. Designed by James Watt and built by the Birmingham Canal Company (UK) in 1779 at a cost of £2,000 the pump worked on the locks at Smethwick, West Midlands, UK, until 1891.
Guinness World Records also recognized the Oldest computer mouse, invented by Douglas Engelbart (USA) in 1964.
Subscribe to our free RSS News feed to receive updates.
Related world records:
Largest Revolving Christmas Star - Siemens Superstar
Largest
Tidal Turbine - world record set by The AK1000
Smallest
1080p HD image sensor - OmniVision
Thinnest
external iPhone battery - Mili Power Skin
Smallest
Telemedicine Microscope - CNSI
Smallest
Digital Camcorder - Muvi Atom
Thinnest
on-Wall Speaker - Mytos XTR-50
Fastest
ultraportable laptop- X201 ThinkPad
Cheapest
Mobile - Vodafone 150
Largest
iPod - Jonathan Ive
Largest
3D Plasma Display- Panasonic
Most
patents by a university - Far East University Taiwan
Largest
Revolving Christmas Star - Siemens Superstar
Fastest
wind-powered car - The Greenbird
Most
efficient single junction solar cell - QuantaSol
Longest
and highest non-stop cable car - Ba Na Hills
Most
advanced home flight simulator - Matthew Sheil
Largest
working cell phone - Cricket
Largest
Zoetrope - BRAVIA-drome from Sony
Smallest
Helicopter - GEN H-4
Lightest
mobile phone - Modu mini phone
Fastest
street legal car - G-Force
Fastest
PC - Fi7EPOWER MLK1610
Fastest
processor - Intel Core i7
Smallest
satelitte messenger - SPOT
Largest
Lite-Brite Picture - ASICS
Most
durable phone - Sonim XP1
Biggest
printed digital image - Base3
Longest
unmanned flight - Zephyr
Smallest
humanoid robot - BeRobot
Largest
periodic table of elements - Fossil Ridge students
Most
successful piles surgeries - Sudershan Chugh
Most
efficient bacteria test - Mobidiag
Longest
Pi Chain - Qatar International School
Longest
model of a DNA gene - Huddersfield University
Fastest
diesel motorcycle - The Diesel Dozen
Largest
number of crawler tractors - Otago Club
Longest
Scanned Document - Trūper scanner
Highest
efficient solar-to-grid convertor - SES
Fastest
Storage - Texas Memory Systems
Fastest
road-legal BMW - G-Power
Darkest
material - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University
Lowest
power chipset - Silicon Line
Longest
lasting alkaline battery - Evolta
Fastest
electric vehicle - Altairnano
Shortest
Chemical Bond Between Metals - UD researchers
Fastest
heavy truck - Volvo NH
Longest
micro-UAV flight - Pterosoar
Strongest
artificially generated tornado
Lowest
car - Perry Watkins
Longest
unmanned flight - Zephyr plane
Fastest
jet-powered street luge - 'Tea Tray'
Most
eye operations - Tatyarao Lahane
Superconducting
magnet set world record
Fastest
drive wipping - Blancco
Deepest
production platform - Independence Hub
Fastest
single - turbine engine plane
Highest
popping toaster - Freddie Yauner
Fastest
yacht - Wallypower 118
Drilling
Depth world records were set by Timken bits
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 |
