Toilets, Toasters & Telephones: The How and Why of Everyday Objects

by Susan Goldman Rubin, Elsa Warnick (Illustrator)

A fascinating history of everyday objects is filled with entertaining anecdotes and remarkable facts in a user-friendly format, including vintage photographs, paintings, and an extensive bibliography.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Childrens

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Susan Goldman Rubin is the author of more than forty-five books for young people, including Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter; The Yellow House: Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side; and Edward Hopper: Painter of Light and Shadow. A long-time instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers Program, Susan Goldman Rubin lives in Malibu, California.

Reviews

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son, who just turned 8, wants to be an inventor, so I picked up this book about industrial design to read together. He tapped out after a few chapters, but I (slowly) made my way to the end. I have a number of books by Susan Goldman Rubin and always appreciate her straightforward introductions to art concepts and artists. This particular book could have used some color and is awfully dated (one of the “newest” items discussed is the typewriter, something my son only knows from watching Murder, She Wrote with me). Still, I learned a bunch and would recommend it as a breezy read about how everyday objects like irons, toilets, and pencils came to look and work they way they do.

[Bryanna Plog · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read with some interesting history--I was especially intrigued how many different common household items a man named Henry Dreyfuss designed in the mid 20th century. Meant for a young audience but still felt it was missing something. A true rating of "it was okay" and worth checking out but nothing exemplary.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been more interesting if the author had included pictures of all the items described. Without the pictures the book became boring pretty quickly.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, okay. Why would I include this in my Goodreads list, you're wondering. Kind of a TMI book. Is this the result of a testosterone-heavy household, exposure to too much potty humor over the years?

Wait now. This juv. nonfiction was actually a very good read. In simple language, yes, Rubin gives a fascinating and amusing history of common household objects, from stoves and laundry irons to typewriters and telephones. Here's a sample chapter from the section on Pens and Pencils:

In 1921 Parker introduced the Duofold, also known as Big Red because of its unusual orange-red color. (In those days most pens were black.) The Duofold was an instant hit. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used his to write the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The first Duofolds were made of red rubber then, later, plastic. They were guaranteed to last forever. To prove that the pens were unbreakable, they were dropped from planes, skyscrapers, and over the edge of the Grand Canyon. (How they were found again to prove their durability is not completely clear.)

My favorite aspect of the book is the author's emphasis on industrial design and the whole concept of applied arts. I have a new admiration and appreciation for pleasing, functional design elements in everyday appliances. Thank you, Henry Dreyfuss, George Parker, and many others, for making our workaday world a more efficient and beautiful place.

A sample passage from the section on Irons:

As iron manufacturers competed for customers, they paid more attention to restyling their products and once again turned to industrial designers for help. Harold Van Doren designed a streamlined iron for Westinghouse that started a trend. The Bakelite handle was curved to better fit a woman's hand. A dial regulated different temperature settings for various fabrics. Sunbeam produced a steam iron called the Steam-O-Matic. Steam, rather than the weight of the hot iron, pressed wrinkles from the clothes... Ordinary household objects like irons and the ordinary women who used them inspired great artists. In 1767 Henry Robert Morland painted "A Servant Ironing," showing a lovely young woman tenderly pressing a handkerchief with a box iron. Edgar Degas more realistically expressed the fatigue of ironing in his painting "Two Laundresses." One of the women leans on the iron with all her might, while the other stretches and yawns and reaches for a bottle of wine.

For me, an enjoyable and educational book.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a lot of fun to learn how these every day items came about and some of them, throug the centuries! This author included a lot of fun tidbits of knowledge such as the origin of the British word the "loo"--if you must know, it comes from the French "Guardez l'eau" (watch out for the water--when it was common to empty out chamber pots out the window into the streets). It became "Gardy loo" and hence "loo" for toilets. There, now you can impress your friends! A book written about Mr. Crapper, inventor the WC (water closet) was titled "Flushed with Pride"--you can't make that stuff up. And did you know that hot tub parties started in Medieval times, amongst the rich to be sure. They even had musicians providing top ten hits to liven it up. By the way, showering (as opposed to bathing) was a men-only thing till the 1920s when women finally embraced the concept. And did you know that traditionally, you stuck your arm and hand in an oven to find out how hot it was. None of those sissy temperature knobs for them! Labor saving dogs were harnessed to a treadmill to turn the spit for those savory roasted meats. Later improvement included geese who were said to keep that spit going for 12 hours at a time! And did you know that Vikings used irons of sorts (slickenstones) to iron out the creases in their tunic before they went out shopping...uh, on their raids? I was most impressed by Henry Dreyfus, that unsung (till now) hero of industrial design. His name pops out time and time on modern inventions. Mr. Dreyfus actually considered how a better design would improve the lives of people. You can thank him for many of the every day objects you use so efficiently. This book is a chock full of interesting tidbits and a very fast read. Highly recommended if you like to know how things click and how they came about!

[Luann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be quite fascinating, although I set it aside for a long time and just now finished it. I would love to read an updated version of this, although it isn't too terribly behind the times yet. It does mention cell phones in its section on phones. Of course the historical bits are still accurate, it's just when comparing the older items to the newest items that this is a bit behind the times.

Some random bits I found amusing while I read:

* Boys, dogs and even geese were used to turn spits!

* Rich gold miners in California sent their shirts to Hong Kong to be washed!

* Teachers didn't like it when pencils with erasers were first made! :)

[Beth A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes a few household objects and briefly covers the changes in their design over time. It mentions the effect industrial designers had in production and sales.

This easily could have been a book that fascinated me. I wanted more pictures, to see comparisons of the different designs discussed, and more detail and depth.

Another thing that could have made this book more interesting would have been more depth to the people mentioned.

As it is, it just skimmed over the surface, and really didn't hold my interest in more than a very mild way.

Meh.

[Elaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yawn.