Тематический сборник текстов для чтения (английский язык). Соснина Е.П - 43 стр.

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lost with time. Subsequent varieties persisted throughout the 19th century, in all manner of

shapes and sizes.

The first electrically-powered cleaner was invented by two men at about the same time.

The first was H. Cecil Booth, a British engineer. He noticed a device used in trains that blew

dust off the chairs, and thought it would be much more useful to have one that sucked dust.

He attempted to test the idea by sucking the dust out of a dinner chair with his mouth. He

nearly choked, but realised the idea could work. He patented it in Britain, and created a

large horse-drawn vacuum cleaner that would park outside a building to clean it. Booth

never had great success with it, however. The other inventor, in the United States had much

better luck. In 1906 James Murray Spangler, a janitor in Canton, Ohio, jury-rigged a

vacuum cleaner out of a fan, a box, and a pillowcase. In addition to suction, Spangler's

design incorporated a rotating brus h to loosen debris . He patented it in 1908 and eventually

sold the idea to his cousin's "Hoover Harness and Leather Goods Factory." In the USA,

Hoover remains one of the leading manufacturers of household goods including cleaners,

and Hoover became very wealthy from the invention.

In Britain, Hoover has become so associated with the manufacture of vacuum cleaners

that in English, "Hoover" is virtually a synonym of vacuum cleaner, indeed many people

will often refer to their "hoover" and "doing the hoovering" even if the machine has been

made by another manufacturer.

For many years after their introduction, they remained an expensive luxury item, but

after World War II, vacuum cleaners became ubiquitous amongst the rising middle classes

of the United States and, gradually, the rest of the West.

In early 2000 several companies developed robotic vacuum cleaners. These machines

move automatically in patterns across a floor, cleaning surface dust and debris into their

dustbin. They are usually capable of navigating around furniture and finding their

recharging station. Most robotic vacuum cleaners are designed for home use, although there

are more capable models for operation in offices, hotels, hospitals, etc.