Household appliances in the 1950s

The years have passed and household appliances are yet another compelling proof that technology has evolved, and will continue to evolve by leaps and bounds. So let's remind the older generation, and introduce the younger generation to the household equipment of the past. 

Grandma's washing machine. More specifically, it was a wooden or sheet metal tub, in which there were various auxiliary tools. It was considered one of the hardest jobs for a housewife (when there were no maids), as they did the laundry by hand and with common green or white soap. Many times the tub also served as a bathtub, since most homes did not have today's bathroom facilities and bathing was not a daily habit.

The traditional "Vaporaki" iron with coal. Most areas were connected to the electricity grid in the 1970s, so housewives had no other way to iron clothes than with a steamer. The steamer worked by burning charcoal, which was placed inside the vessel and heated the plate.

The tap, or in other words, a running water supply installation, which needed to be constantly filled from a pitcher or other vessel. Housewives used the tap to wash dishes, hands and face.

The lantern or cage was the means of storing perishable foods (meat, cheese, etc.) for a short period of time. It was hung either outside in the yard or on the kitchen ceiling and was usually raised and lowered with a rope passed through a pulley. It had a metal or plastic frame, was covered with gauze all around and was so light that it could be hung without difficulty. On its front side it had a door and two shelves for the various foods to rest on. Most of the time it was hung on the northern verandas simply to keep the foods cool from the air and to avoid dust, moisture, but also unwanted visits from insects, rodents and cats. Almost all the surplus food was stored inside, even until the next day. The lantern was replaced by refrigerators with ice in the form of ice cubes, which was supplied daily by the neighborhood ice seller.

Gas stove and fireplace. Cooking was done on gas stoves that burned oil. They were complex tools, with which housewives were perfectly familiar. They blew air into the fuel container so that it rose to the burner. The containers often clogged and to unclog them they used special needles to clean them.

There were also the foufoudes, a structure that resembled a brazier, but had a grate to place the pot. Coffee and herbal teas were roasted in the fireplaces, which burned blue alcohol. Only relatively wealthy households had a connection to the gas light and did not use this type of device.

Oil lamp. Wherever there was no electricity, there was a lamp with a wick, where the one side was inside the container, which contained oil. By raising the wick with the movement of a washer, the intensity of the light was increased. However, there was a risk of breaking  it,if it reached very high temperatures.

Brazier or hearth. In the 1950s, the average home did not have central heating. Heating with a brazier was cheap, but not very efficient. For this reason, it was placed in the middle of the room with charcoal and the core (a powder from olive pits). This created an ember, in which coffee was roasted. Meat or slices of bread were roasted on top of the brazier. Of course, it is worth noting that the charcoal sometimes burned incompletely, resulting in the release of carbon monoxide and the creation of a suffocating atmosphere that could even lead to the loss of human lives.

These were some of the household tools used by households in the 1950s. How far can technology go?