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Many people still like to chop wood. To others it was a chore, particularly women in the 19th Century who were home all day and had to keep the fire going in the stove. These 66 automated heating components of yesteryear are what got people out of the shed and enjoying their new leisure time. Gone was the drudgery and in was the new increasingly automated oil, electric or gas appliance to keep the whole house and buildings warm – and for year round employment! [ ENTER ]
How to get smoke from fireplaces and stoves outside, along with damp from clothes, for example, was a problem for pioneers. There was no ducting, no fans, no air filters, or other ventilation and indoor air quality products back in the 19th Century, or even early in the 20th Century. Today you take these appliances for granted, hidden away in walls and ceilings. These 63 items show evolving ventilation that helped solved those problems. [ ENTER ]
Using ice – when available – to keep food fresh was a drag, always melting. The new refrigeration units began to change people's lifestyles from the 1930s on. More fresh and frozen foods from all over the world, all put in that nice white appliance that contained the bitter outdoor cold indoors every day of the year – willingly! You wouldn't be without refrigeration, or air conditioning, today. Over 200 artefacts to see how they changed. [ ENTER ]