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...
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
"A dream to some. A nightmare to others!" As it's Christmas let's look back at a film that I think helped redefine an old genre, captivated the imagination and launched many successful acting careers.
Let's look at John Boorman's Excalibur!
For a long time the film industry found the King Arthur story amusing. Camelot (1967) was a musical comedy; Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) was pure comedy.
But director John Boorman had been thinking seriously about the Arthurian legend since 1969, particularly Sir Thomas Malory's 1469 telling of the story 'Le Morte d’Arthur'. The mythic theme greatly appealed to him.
Today in pulp I'm looking back at some Michael Moorcock books, and having a think about the New Wave of science fiction that started in the 1960s...
In Britain the New Wave is often associated with New Worlds magazine, which Moorcock edited from 1964 to 1970. Financial troubles caused the magazine to close in 1970, but it made sporadic comebacks over the subsequent years.
However he started as editor of Tarzan Adventures in 1957, where he introduced Sojan the Swordsman - perhaps his first stab at creating an 'eternal champion' character
Today in pulp I'm looking back at one of the greatest albums of all time.
What are the chances...
By 1976 Jeff Wayne was already a successful composer and musician, as well as a producer for David Essex. His next plan was to compose a concept album.
War Of The Worlds was already a well known story, notorious due to the Orson Wells radio play production. For Wayne it seemed like a great choice for a rock opera.
Today in pulp I'm looking back at a very popular (and collectable) form of art: Micro Leyendas covers!
Micro Leyendas (mini legends) are a Mexican form of fumetto, small graphic novels normally pitting the everyday hero against the weird, the occult and the unfathomable.
The art of Micro Leyendas is bold, macabre and very funny. The books often tell a cautionary tale of revenge or humiliation, much like a modern folk tale.
Today in pulp: what makes a good opening sentence for a pulp novel?
Now this is a tricky one…
The opening sentence has an almost mythical status in writing. Authors agonise for months, even years, about crafting the right one. Often it’s the last thing to be written.
Which is odd, because very few people abandon a book if they don’t like the first sentence. It’s not like the first sip of wine that tells you if the Grand Cru has been corked! Most people at least finish Chapter One.