Agitator

The Agitator iHorn is made from a 1909 Domestic Utilities Manufacturing Company metal, manual washing machine agitator.  In its original state, it had a broom handle attached to the agitator, which was manipulated in an up and down motion to clean laundry.  It was the butter churn approach to cleaning clothes.  While the earliest drum washing machines were invented in England in 1782, they lacked an ability to agitate the clothing in order to eliminate scrubbing.  One of the first innovations in washing machine technology was the use of enclosed containers or basins that had grooves, fingers, or paddles to help with the scrubbing and rubbing of the clothes. The person using the washer would use a stick to press and rotate the clothes along the textured sides of the basin or container, agitating the clothes to remove dirt and mud.  This crude agitator technology was hand-powered, but still more effective than actually hand-washing the clothes.  The Agitator was a useful tool which continues to produce clean sounds.

Domestic Utilities was frequently sued for its business practices and nearly always lost.  Apparently, Domestic Utilities Manufacturing sold its washing machines for thousands of dollars, taking real estate as security for the purchase.  When the buyer failed to pay, Domestic Utilities took the property, selling it for a huge profit.  This clearly illegal practice lead to all of the directors being indicted for fraud and the ultimate demise of Domestic Utilities.  However, before it failed, and to avoid liability, Domestic Utilities Manufacturing embossed a limited warranty on the Agitator.

What is left today is the shambles of fraud and some random parts of their defunct crookery.  However, the Washing Machine iHorn is unique and lasting.  It represents a time when Ralph Nader and consumer protection were unheard of.  It is a dirty piece of American economic history which is so unique it had to be preserved.