Household appliances that changed history

The first central heating systems appeared in 1880 - but the technology took some time to become mainstream. Robinson says, "The idea of a warm house was a totally foreign idea to me while growing up. When I was growing up, in the late 1940s and 1950s, we could only ensure one room was heated. I particularly remember the bite of the cold as I would rush – dressed in awful thick flannel pyjamas – from my bedroom to the bathroom at night. So ... more 

The first central heating systems appeared in 1880 - but the technology took some time to become mainstream. Robinson says, "The idea of a warm house was a totally foreign idea to me while growing up. When I was growing up, in the late 1940s and 1950s, we could only ensure one room was heated. I particularly remember the bite of the cold as I would rush – dressed in awful thick flannel pyjamas – from my bedroom to the bathroom at night. So central heating – which was actually invented in the 1880s but wasn’t properly introduced until the post-war era – made an enormous difference to people’s lives. " (Image: Mirrorpix) less