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A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

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Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#41

Post by ExoticPearTree »

jandrese wrote: post #16

> After five minutes of that, the machine would then fill the chamber with hot water for a three-minute ultrasonic bath. This was followed by a two-minute hot rinse cycle. Next, the chamber would drain and the user was blasted with warm air to dry off. They were additionally exposed to both infrared and ultraviolet light to kill germs. All in all, it was a 15-minute cycle. It's apparently also a tanning booth. 15 min…

For a man sure, you can do your hair in 2 minutes. But if you’re a woman it is going to be a multiple of 15 minutes.

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#44

Post by maronato »

bargle0 wrote: post #34

I think the application for this is to return some dignity and independence to people who have physical trouble washing themselves. Of course the form factor of the 1970 prototype wouldn’t do that, but that can be fixed.

It fills with (hot) water up to the neck, which feels like a huge risk for unattended disabled people

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#45

Post by ExoticPearTree »

SoftTalker wrote: post #2

How many hundreds of gallons of water for a bath, then? I didn't see that in the story.

It doesn’t matter. Really doesn’t.

We are talking about a device from 50 years ago where concerns were wildly different than the ones today. Water was cheap and plentiful.

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#46

Post by TeMPOraL »

maronato wrote: post #40
jandrese wrote: post #16

> After five minutes of that, the machine would then fill the chamber with hot water for a three-minute ultrasonic bath. This was followed by a two-minute hot rinse cycle. Next, the chamber would drain and the user was blasted with warm air to dry off. They were additionally exposed to both infrared and ultraviolet light to kill germs. All in all, it was a 15-minute cycle. It's apparently also a tanning booth. 15 min…

And uses orders of magnitude more water

Is that a problem though? The other day I got a whole lecture on HN, complete with math, proving that keeping the water running entire time while showering isn't meaningfully wasteful... I still can't believe it on an emotional level, but the math checks out...

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#47

Post by spondylosaurus »

bargle0 wrote: post #34

I think the application for this is to return some dignity and independence to people who have physical trouble washing themselves. Of course the form factor of the 1970 prototype wouldn’t do that, but that can be fixed.

There was a similar (contemporary?) Japanese model shared on here a few days ago, which was basically the same sans ladder. As long as there's nothing to stumble over on your way in, and it's not too hard to get situated in the chair, one of those would be amazing for people with mobility issues.

There was a New Yorker short story I read years ago about an elderly woman in a nursing home, and this wasn't the point of the story at all, but the main thing I remember is how the woman wanted to live with her daughter until her daughter pointed out that assisted/accessible bathing would be impossible in the daughter's tiny apartment shower.

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#48

Post by skynet97 »

bargle0 wrote: post #34

I think the application for this is to return some dignity and independence to people who have physical trouble washing themselves. Of course the form factor of the 1970 prototype wouldn’t do that, but that can be fixed.

I would be mightily surprised if the independence of disabled people were even a thought in the 70s.

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#49

Post by skynet97 »

maronato wrote: post #44
bargle0 wrote: post #34

I think the application for this is to return some dignity and independence to people who have physical trouble washing themselves. Of course the form factor of the 1970 prototype wouldn’t do that, but that can be fixed.

It fills with (hot) water up to the neck, which feels like a huge risk for unattended disabled people

[flagged]

Re: A washing machine for human beings, from 1970

#50

Post by vasco »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #43

Ah, those beautiful times when people actually cared and believed the future will be better. I guess this is where Star Trek got the idea of "sonic showers" from?

> Ah, those beautiful times when people actually cared and believed the future will be better

Thinking the future will be worse with all the available evidence is of a huge ego. How main character you have to be to think that it's just as you're alive that a trend of millenia will inverse.

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