Look who’s Forty

If you rely on your Dustbuster daily like we do, you can thank the engineers at NASA for coming up with a cordless battery for the Apollo space mission tools that Black & Decker translated into a portable hand held vacuum.

The original Dustbuster went on sale in 1979 and a million were sold in the first year. We received one as a wedding gift from a neighbor who thought it was great for sand, when we lived at the beach. Little did she know how much we would use it throughout our marriage. It does pick up sand, like a champ, but we use it for so much more. Crumbs, corners, cupboards, stairs, car seats, dog hair, drawers, window sills, bookshelves and spider webs. I even use it on my keyboard and that space between the stove top and the counter. It may , in fact, be one of the most useful gifts we have ever received.

In 1995, the Smithsonian added the original to the electrical collection of the National Museum of American History. You don’t have to look any further than your local Target or hardware store to see one.

A guesstimate is that over 150 million have been sold over 40 years. I believe it. We have gone through a few ourselves and we keep more than one on hand, as our collection of dogs has grown. Black & Decker has produced some jazzier models over the years. – A wet/dry model and a pet version. The newest one has a charging base – but we stick with the original light weight -no bells or whistles – variety. It’s easy to empty and still works like a charm.

Thank you NASA and Black & Decker

Thank you Mary Heller

The post Look who’s Forty appeared first on Notablerose.