Section 3 Money in the Kitchen
409. The Cheap Washer.—For all the many washing machines, most of our women in middle-class and lowly life are still bending painfully over the old tubs. What is needed is a cheap washer that everyone will buy.
410. A Meat Chopper.—One which has a large number of small blades dividing the meat ten or twenty times with one stroke, where now the large blades divide it only one-fourth or fifth that number of times. The scroll bread-knife netted a princely revenue to its fortunate inventor.
411. Automatic Stove-Damper.—One to take the place of the heedless servant, and close when the state of the fire warrants it. Thousands of dollars’ worth of coal could annually be saved to housekeepers by this device.
412. Potato Extractor.—Apply the principle of the glass lemon-squeezer to the raw potato and you have not only a new invention but also a new preparation of the common vegetable. The potato in the form of the raw pulp can be cooked in various ways, and will have a decidedly new and agreeable flavor. As a salad or a dressing it would be invaluable.
413. Knife Sharpener.—One for the kitchen use, that could be sold for twenty-five cents; almost every housekeeper would want one.
414. Cold Handle.—A separate handle which could be instantly applied to utensils on the stove and remove them without burning the hands waits to enrich the inventor. The cold-handled smoothing-iron brought much money to its inventor.
415. The Electric Stove.—Cooking by electricity will be the domestic feature of the next century. There is a rich field here awaiting some inventive brain.
416. Fruit-Jar Holder.—A device for holding fruit jars during the preserving process so that the can will neither burn the hand nor spill the fruit.
417. Can Opener.—All the women are crying for an effective can opener. Those on the market are not satisfactory. They must be made to sell very cheap. A gold mine in a can opener.
418. Odorless Cooking Vessels.—An attachment whereby the odors of cooking will be carried into the chimney instead of out into the room.
419. Coal-Filled Flat-Iron.—Construct a hollow flat-iron so that it can be filled with live coals, and thus keep in proper heat much longer than those now in use.
420. Automatic Soaper.—A washboard so arranged that the soft soap is fed to the clothes by the simple act of rubbing.
421. Dish-Washing Machine.—A dish-washing machine which can be sold for $5. There are plenty of machines on the market, but they are too expensive for use, except in hotels or in rich households. A cheap machine could be sold in every house.
422. A Stove Alarm.—Proper cooking requires the heat of the stove to be kept equable. Invent a contrivance by which when the heat exceeds a certain degree an alarm will be sounded.
423. The Elastic Clothes Line.—Save washerwomen and housekeepers the nuisance of tying and untying of hard knots by inventing the elastic clothes line.
424. Combination Line and Pin.—If the old-fashioned line is to be used, why not invent a cheap clasp which remains permanently on the line, and is capable of being moved in either direction. Clothes pins are lost, broken, or not at hand when required.
425. A Fruit Press.—A cheap press which will be as much a part of every furnished kitchen as a range. Every housewife needs one for the extracting of juices.
426. The Can-Slide.—The opening of hermetically sealed cans is one of the difficulties of life. All can openers so far invented are more or less ineffective. A vast fortune awaits a man who will invent a can-slide which will effectually keep the food air-tight, and which at the same time may be easily opened.