The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The development of the clothes dryer followed that of the washing machine. An early design was patented by the African-American inventor G.T. Sampson in 1892. The first successful home drying machines were designed in the 1930s by J. Ross Moore, originally of North Dakota and then of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moore sold his designs to the Hamilton Manufacturing Company of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, who then called in industrial designer Brooks Stevens to help redesign the machine. It was Stevens who came up with the idea for the window in the dryer's door so consumers would know what the machine was for--Stevens advised Hamilton to display the window-doored dryer in stores with a pair of "boxer shorts flying around in there." Hamilton made the only dryers marketed in the United States before World War II. They were relatively simple machines that operated at fixed temperatures. Modern dryer improvements began in 1960 with Maytag's introduction of electronics. Today's dryers have automatic cycles with varying temperatures and can shut themselves off when the clothes reach the correct stage of dryness. Energy saving dryers have been developed that do not vent to the outside; instead they employ a condensing process that relies on a heat exchanger and a small fan pulling in room air to dry the clothes, thereby avoiding the heat loss associated with a more traditional clothes dryer. Dryers come in varying sizes and colors, and are available to stand independently or stacked with a washer for small spaces.