<u>The vacuum cleaner</u>
The firsts official vacuum cleaners were actually invented in England in 1901 by Hubert Cecil Booth. Though a great invention, his models were too big and not practical at all: they couldn't even enter buildings so it was used as a cleaning service or installed in the building itself.
After him, several other men made different versions of the vacuum cleaner: smaller, practical, portable, more efficient, with more accessories, etc. Until the American William Henry Hoover in early 1900s redesigned the vacuum cleaner: placed it in a steel box, designed attachments for the hose, added disposal filter bags and finally designed the first upright vacuum cleaner in 1926.
It wasn't until post-WW II, that the item could be afforded by American middle class and became common in households. Before it was a luxury. Later on, the appliance was widespread to the Western countries. Several variants of the vacuum have been made too.
