the ‘Puffing Billy’
noun phrase

- the world’s first combustion engine powered vacuum-cleaner using suction

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ORIGIN

Hubert Cecil Booth's "Puffing Billy" refers to his invention, the world's first vacuum cleaner. In 1901, Booth patented his revolutionary device, which marked a significant advancement in cleaning technology.

Contrary to its name's association with the first steam locomotive in 1813, Booth's "Puffing Billy" was far from a train.

It was red, gasoline-powered, extremely loud, and big — really big. So big, in fact, that the machine needed to be pulled by horses when Booth’s British Vacuum Cleaner Company made house calls. Once outside a residence, 82-foot-long hoses snaked from the machine through open windows.

Because turn-of-the-century carpet cleaning wasn’t cheap, Booth’s customers were often members of British high society; one of his first jobs was to clean Westminster Abbey’s carpet ahead of Edward VII’s coronation in 1902.

By 1906, Booth had created a more portable version of the Puffing Billy, and two years later, the Electric Suction Sweeper Company (later renamed Hoover) released the “Model O,” the first commercially successful vacuum in the United States.

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SUCTION — THEN AND NOW

120 years later in 2023, what would Booth have made of Dyson’s v15 Detect Absolute domestic vacuum cleaner?

- Illumination angled light makes invisible dust visible on hard floors.

- A piezo sensor continuously sizes and counts dust particles – automatically increasing suction power when needed.

- The LCD screen shows what’s been sucked up, displaying real-time scientific proof of a deep clean.

- Dyson Hyperdymium™ motor spins at up to 125,000 rpm to generate incredible suction.

- Energy-dense click-in battery provides up to 60 minutes of fade-free power.

- Multi-stage filtration traps 99.99% of fine dust as small as 0.3 microns.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“If they were alive today, users of the THE PUFFING BILLY would be astonished to see its modern descendants.”

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