Iâm pretty sure they werenât selling blindersâŚthey seem to be suggesting that women who arenât buying all the newfangled devices that Electrolux was selling at the time are failing to see the bigger picture of innovation and the blinders are kind of an allusion to being closed minded about adopting new devices to relieve them of tasks like washing clothes via the bucket+water method. I bet more than a few people were asking what would happen to the ice delivery and milk men if we all buy refrigeratorsâŚ
Are you sure? Cuz you seem to think that we needed you to explain in words what the image above is saying⌠O_o
Iâm just wondering why Electrolux was selling a gas-powered refrigerator.
Was electricity everywhere by then? Was it reliable enough? Was it cheaper than gas for the equivalent energy consumption?
Random thought. Electric refrigerator, with integrated hydrogen fuel cell based UPS. Could stay cold for up to a week or more of a power blackoutâŚ
(Evolved from a previous random thought, propane-powered fridge/freezer.)
I was referring to Xeniâs comment at the bottom about how far weâve comeâŚcome from what?
The ad does not seem to be coming from some misogynistic place, itâs just making a visual for being closed minded - and itâs a common thing we still say in everyday speech to this day. An episode of Mad Men seems way more inflammatoryâŚ
The ad copy highlights how the new Electrolux refrigerators have only a gas flame, and no moving parts. To me, that implied an adsorption-cycle refrigerator which would not have a compressor or other electric motor, just a heater for one part of the refrigeration cycle. The selling point is âlack of moving partsâ, not âdoesnât need electricityâ.
Why didnât Electrolux simply use a resistive heating element in place of the gas flame?
You can by propane-powered, adsorption-cycle refrigerators/freezers today; while the adsorption-cycle lost the technology wars, it didnât completely die out. Many camping/off-grid enthusiasts get them.
Thatâs right. Iâm the fragile moron, damnit!
(A gas fridge sounds pretty cool)
Actually, we could use both! Just add any source of heat, whatever you got. Got electricity? Use that. Got a blackout but got a propane tank? Food and meds are still safe. Donât want to consume propane but the sun is shining hard? A solar mirror or a Fresnel lens will do the job. Got oil instead? Rig up a burner and buy some more cool time.
Reliable freezer for unreliable times.
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_08.html
I grew up in freakinâ Illinois, and my parents kept kerosene lamps and lanterns because you could count on the power being out for at least an hour every time there was a storm.
That ad would have been used to shame people like my grandma into getting a refrigerator instead of using an icebox. She lived to be 99 and never had indoor plumbing. Needless expense. Unnecessary complication. Shit belongs outside.
If you look at ads from decades past, the technique was used quite a bit.
Not denying that âO woe we must protect the wimmins from themselvesâ was a technique; hell, within my own lifetime, car dealerships used the âwomen arenât smart enough to drive a stick shiftâ schtick to sell automatic transmissions. Wouldnât want the little gal grinding through the gears on the way to the grocery store, haw haw! Now, Mrs. Smith, when can your husband come in to talk to me about this fine automobile?
It sure seems that for places like Arizona this could be used like a super charged swamp cooler. The harder the sun shines the more cooling you get, without the need for PV conversation to electricity.
I see that you are unfamiliar with the tagline for Virginia SlimsâŚ
Also, if you havenât seen any of the Killing us Softly documentaries by Jean Kilbourne about the depiction of women in advertising I highly highly recommend them. Sheâs up to version 4 now, but 1 is still my favourite. (http://www.jeankilbourne.com/videos/)
I think the moving parts is referring to the difficult task of removing and emptying the catching tray of the old ice powered iceboxes. Those trays of water were heavy and hard to manage, gas or electric would do away with that.
The Tea~publicans have been using a set of horse blinders to keep them from any forms of progress for decades.
Reliably inefficient. But yes, quite reliable.
I used to fish at a teeny little resort North of Kamloops B.C., No electricity, no cell service, half the time the geography around the banks of the lake prevented getting a GPS fix, there was a single jury-rigged emergency phone box that rang at the proprietorâs house.
Most of the cabins had ice boxes and we had an ice shed.
But we had one big cabin with gas lights, gas heaters, a gas oven and stove, and a gas refrigerator and freezer. The height of luxury.
In case youâre curious, this is the place Iâm talking about: http://wheretofishinbc.com/members/listing/hi-hium-lake-fishing-resort/
Donât go bringing in generators and stuff. Itâs good enough without electricity and running water 
ETA: awwwww, maaaaaan. Since I was there last they plumbed the cabinsâŚ
âYou know how we put blinders on horses nowadays, so they wonât be frightened by the newfangled cars on the streets? This woman is as dumb as a horse, and reacts in a similar way to new technology, so we will dehumanize her by putting a piece of horse tack on her head.â
Nope, does not seem misogynistic to me.
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