FAST FACTS

1.  Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola, Florida invented mechanical refrigeration in 1851. Electric refrigerators were first sold to American housewives in 1916, at a cost of $900. In 1956, 80% of all U.S. households had a refrigerator, but only 8% of British households had one.

2.  The first hair dryer was the vacuum cleaner. Around the turn of the century, women dried their hair by connecting the hose to the exhaust of their vacuum cleaners. In early models, the front of a vacuum cleaner sucked air in, the back blew air out, and the hose could be attached to either end.