Writer & Geek

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Writer & Geek episodes

September 16, 2018 052: The History Of Vacuum Cleaner
What were the origins of this humble but useful home applaince?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
33 min
September 16, 2018052 - The History of Vaccum Cleaner
Vacuum Cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known as a sweeper or hoover, is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and from other surfaces.
Basically, it is a device which sucks your home tidy.
Timeline
2300 B.C. - First rudimentary forms of broom and cleaning tools came into existence

1797 - Levi Dickenson devised a broom with the use of sorghum bristles. The sorghum broom business exploded and by 1860 sorghum got the name broomcorn.

1858 - Hiram Herrick patented a carpet sweeper which was the first American patent for a carpet sweeper. The device consisted of a rolling broom and dustpan.

1860 - Daniel Hess produced a carpet sweeper which used suction through a rotating brush and bellows. It was completely manual and that is probably the reason why it was not successful. It was the first rudimentary design of a vacuum cleaner.

1869 - Ives W. McCaffe came up with ‘Whirlwind’, the first manual vacuum cleaner which was upright. The belt driven, hand-powered device was sold for a retail price of $25 which would be around a whopping $450 in the present. This proved to be the reason for the unsuccessful run of the device.

1898 - A gasoline powered blower was developed by John S. Thurman, which had to be horse-drawn to locations due to its bulky nature. It was a moderately successful device which relied on blowing the dust into a receptacle instead of suction.

1901 - Hubert Cecil Booth from England manufactured the ‘Puffing Billy’ which was also a bulky device but relied on suction. The gasoline-powered machine was later upgraded to electric power. It used a cloth filter to collect the dust. Puffing Billy was extremely successful and hotels started installing it in their compound. It was once also used to clean West Minister Abbey.

During the same time, David T. Kenney came up with a vacuum cleaner which was powered by steam engine. But it did not succeed in getting much business due to its weight of 4000 pounds.

1906 - Walter Griffiths came up with the first portable vacuum cleaner which used bellows and flexible pipe for suction.

1906 - Jame B. Kirby developed a vacuum cleaner that used water for dirt separation instead of a filter. It was called ‘Domestic Cyclone’.

1907 - James Murray Spangler, a janitor from Ohio devised a vacuum cleaner with the use of a broom, electric rotating motor, and a pillowcase for dust collection. Because he did not get the funding, he sold the patent to William Henry Hoover in 1908.

1926 - Hoover redesigned the vacuum cleaner by adding a steel box for sturdiness and disposal filter bags to collect dust. It became a mainstay in the market

1997 - A Swedish company came up with ‘Electrolux Trilobite’, the first autonomous cordless robotic vacuum cleaner. This was made available to the consumers in 2001.

2004 - A British company came up with ‘Airider’, a vacuum cleaner which uses the technology of hovercrafts to float above the floor.
Affiliate Links:
Here are some of the best vacuum cleaner available for you
American Micronic-AMI-VCD21

Eureka Forbes Quick Clean DX (economic)
Car vacuum cleaner:
IGRID Car Vacuum Cleaner
If you want to buy the vacuum cleaner we use, here is the link
Karcher WD 3
unsplash-logoThe Creative Exchange
33 min
September 09, 2018 051: Ice-Cream
Ice-cream is fascinating, and it does have a fascinating history too.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
32 min
September 09, 2018051 - Ice-cream
Ice and cream
No introduction required.

It is a colloidal emulsion which is made into a foam by incorporating air and then frozen.

Ice cream is a mixture of water, ice, milk fat, milk protein, sugar and air.

The mixture is stirred well to incorporate air and is cooled below the freezing point and stored as semi-solid foam stored at low temperatures.
The accepted composition of ice-cream in the US according to Wikipedia (all percentages by weight):
Greater than 10% milkfat and usually between 10% and as high as 16% fat in some premium ice creams

9 to 12% milk solids-not-fat: this component, also known as the serum solids, contains the proteins (caseins and whey proteins) and carbohydrates (lactose) found in milk

12 to 16% sweeteners: usually a combination of sucrose and glucose-based corn syrup sweeteners

0.2 to 0.5% stabilisers and emulsifiers

55% to 64% water, which comes from the milk or other ingredients.
History
The ice cream was consumed during the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BC. Ice was mixed with flavours and consumed during the summertime.

Persians also invented a dish with ice, rose water and vermicelli which was a primitive version of Falooda. This was mostly reserved for the Royals.

Greeks weren’t behind, they also invented snow mixed with honey and fruits which was also sold in the markets of Athens.

Hippocrates advocated eating ice.

China invented the real primitive form of ice-cream using milk and rice around 200 B.C. Snow and saltpetre was poured outside of containers filled with syrups to reduce the melting point.

A few centuries later, during the time of Nero, ice was bought from the mountains to Rome and combines with fruits and served as delicacies.

Marco Polo bought the recipe back to Europe.

In India, ice was shipped in from Hindukush mountains and used in sorbets and in making Kulfi which came into existence around 16th century.

Italian Dutchess Catherine de Medici married Henry II of France in 1533 and bought some Italian chef’s along with her who made flavoured ice. Flavoured ice became popular in France.

Italian Francesco dei Coltelli opened an ice cream café in 1651 in Paris which became popular. During the next 50 years around 250 cafés opened in Paris.

Charles I of England was fond of ice-cream and paid his chef to not to give away the recipe.

By the mid-eighteenth century, ice-cream became popular in the United States as well. George Washington was a big fan.

By the mid-nineteenth century, ice-cream became inexpensive and available to common people. This was mainly due to Carlo Gatti setting up a stand outside of Strand in 1851. He sold a scoop for one penny. He imported ice from Norway.

Agnes Marshall popularised many ice-cream recipes in England.

Ice-cream appeared in Greece in 20th century.
Production
Before refrigerators, ice-cream was meant only for the rich upper class. Ice was hard to come by.

Ice-cream was made in using the pot freeze method where a large bowl was kept in a tub of ice and salt.

The mixture of salt and ice cooled the temperature of the ingredients within the bowl.

Salt partially melts the ice allowing it to absorb the latent heat and thus brings the temperature of the ingredients below the freezing point of water. This helps in freezing milk which has a lower freezing point.

First, large-scale production in the US was by Jacob Fussell of Baltimore.
Types
Sundae: A type of ice-cream with one or more scoop of cream and syrup. It was a variation of ice-cream soda and due to restrictions on consuming soda on Sundays, soda was replaced with syrup. To avoid religious conflict changed the spelling to “ice-cream sundae”.

Ice-cream cone: Agnes Marshall’s cookery book had a recipe for serving ice cream in cones, but the practice is believed to be existing before that.

Faludah or Faloodeh: Popular Iranian ice-cream with vermicelli, rose water and sugar syrup.

Gelato: Italian frozen dessert with a lower milk fat content than ice cream.

Ice-cream sandwich: A bar of ice-cream sandwiched between two cookies.

Frozen yoghurt: Made with yoghurt instead of milk or cream.
Present day
The US is the major consumer of ice-cream with about 23 litres per capita followed by Australia and New Zealand.

India is one of the largest producers of ice-cream and most of the production is consumed domestically.
unsplash-logoHarnish Ganatra
32 min
August 26, 2018 050: Cryptography Ft. Rupen Paul
A standup comedian, a writer and a software engineer talk about cryptography
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
57 min
August 26, 2018050 - Cryptography ft. Rupen Paul
That’s 50!
In the 50th episode, we sit down and talk with Rupen Paul, the star stand up comedian and upcoming podcaster about cryptography. This was a pleasant evening with rain, coffee and snacks. Occassional chewing noises are to be expected.
Sit back and enjoy our version of cryptography!
Rupen’s Right Room
Rupen is also the host of an amazing podcast and we think that you should definitely check it out!
The Right Room Podcast
Books mentioned
Please note that these are affiliate links where we get paid a percentage for each purchase and this helps us in the production of the show. Thanks!
Enigma: The Battle For The Code (Hugh Sebag-Montefiore)

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Sherlock Holmes
unsplash-logoMicah Williams
57 min
August 20, 2018 Bonus - An update on the flood situation
Update
Here is a quick update on the flood situation in Kerala and Karnataka:
Thanks for the overwhelming support. Kerala and Karnataka need our support to get through the tough times due to heavy rains and floods. Let us continue our solidarity irrespective of religion, region, caste, language and other diversity. Thanks!
unsplash-logoCherry Laithang
8 min
August 19, 2018 049: Serial Killer Files Part 5 - Cyanide Mohan
In this episode, we talk about Cyanide Mohan. A serial killer from South India.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28 min
August 19, 2018049 - Serial Killer Files Part 5: Cyanide Mohan
Mohan Kumar, infamously known as Cyanide Mohan is a serial killer who targeted women by offering them marriage.
Details:
DOB: 1963

Place: Mangalore

Marital status: Married thrice

Span of crime: 2005-2009

Number of victims: 20

Date of apprehension: October 2009
Crime history
Cyanide Mohan worked as a primary school teacher from 1980 to 2003.

He was fired from his job for allegedly pushing a woman off the Nethravathi when she refused his marriage proposal.

The motive of the murders were to satisfy his sexual needs and to extort the valuables from his victims.

He used cyanide laced pills to kill his victims.

Convicted for 5 murders of the 20 murders.

He is his own attorney and successful appealed to convert one death penalty into a life sentence.

He is also found to have committed bank frauds and forgeries
Currently serving two death penalties and two life sentences.
unsplash-logorawpixel
28 min
August 15, 2018 Bonus - A request
Kerala needs our help
Kerala has been hit with torrential rains over past few weeks and things are getting really difficult down there. In this short conversation, we request you to be a part in helping to rebuild the God’s own country. Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala tweeted the details on how you can contribute to this cause.
Here is the link to Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund
Here's how you can help those affected by the unprecedented floods in Kerala. Now you can make donations online to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund through the site, https://t.co/OFHTHlZ9by #KeralaFloods #StandWithKerala. pic.twitter.com/XNlBKqdCUT
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 14, 2018
unsplash-logoCherry Laithang
4 min