Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 8, 2021 12 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Did you have a twin tub? It was the miracle of 1960s washing machine technology that literally shook the kitchen!

Let's take a look at it...
The twin tub bridged the gap between the mangle washers of the 1950s and the front loaders of the 1970s. Finally the days of cranking washing between two rollers to wring it out were long gone!
A twin tub is just that: a washing machine with two upright tubs - one for washing, one for spinning. Genius!
It also needs no plumbing in. You fill a twin tub with a hose that fits on any sink tap. Then it heats up the water - and I mean heat! In the '60s we liked to properly boil our washing.
First you did your whites: pop them in the first tub and let the agitator do the rest...
Once they had been scrubbed, boiled and violently agitated in a seething maelstrom of Daz you dropped them into the spinner tub...
Then you retreated to a safe distance! The spinner really shook the room, but it also recycled the water back into the washer tub teady for the next load. It was simple, economical and very thorough.
Twin tub washing machines may seem a faff nowadays, but compared to the tub and mangle washing they were a genuine godsend for families.

And they had other uses...
Because the twin tub could heat water and then pump it out it was a quick and convenient way to fill the bath up on Friday nights - no more waiting for the gas water heater to do the job!
A good twin tub wasn't cheap. However they did last: top loaders are less complex than front loaders, plus you don't need to plumb them in.
There are still many people who swear a good twin tub washes better than any modern upright. They certainly steam the kitchen up, but they do recycle the water.
So here's to the twin tub: it was the true soundtrack to the '60s in so many ways!

More inventions another time...

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Apr 3
It was a phenomenon, spawning a franchise that has lasted over fifty years. It's also a story with many surprising influences.

Today in pulp I look back at a sociological science-fiction classic, released today in 1968: Planet Of The Apes! Image
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Mar 23
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Mar 14
Today in pulp I look back at the Witchploitation explosion of the late 1960s: black magic, bare bottoms and terrible, terrible curtains!

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Mar 8
Between 1960 and 1970 Penguin Books underwent several revolutions in cover layout, at a time when public tastes were rapidly changing.

Today in pulp I look back at 10 years that shook the Penguin! Image
Allen Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, aiming to bring high-quality paperbacks to the masses for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. Lane began by snapping up publishing rights for inexpensive mid-market novels and packaging them expertly for book lovers. Image
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Today in pulp: a tale of an unintentionally radical publisher. It only produced 42 books between 1968-9, but it caught the hedonistic, solipsistic, free love mood of the West Coast freakout scene like no other.

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By the 1960s Parliament Press was already selling pornographic novels through its Brandon House imprint, though these were mostly reprints or translations of existing work. Luros was interested in publishing new erotic authors, and set up Essex House to do just that. Image
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