Monday 14 February 2011

that's My World, ABC Wednesday, E for Electricity

Seventy years ago there were no electrical utensils like we have now.






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Every day I realise that we depend on electricity in almost everything we do. We even cannot use the central heating without it! There will be no washing machine without electricity, no fridge, no TV nor radio, no digital camera,no computer, no mobile phone,no telephone at all, no electric cooker,no cash desks or checkouts in shops, no self-closing doors in buildings or on ships,no elevators, no moving staircases, no trains,no planes...no modern kitchen utensils. But how did we do this all a hundred years or even 60 years ago?

We will be lost if we had to miss all the blessings of electricity, but... the environment will be better off.

That's my World is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World




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With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with E.

30 comments:

Sylvia K said...

A great post, Wil, and so true! We take so many things for granted, without considering what damage we're doing to all of our worlds and while I enjoy all of those things, too, I do hope we can find ways to be kinder to our sad, old, overworked world and therefore lengthen its life. Hope you had a lovely weekend and that the new week brings some sunshine and a promise of spring!

Sylvia

Brenda said...

I am not 70 yet, but I remember having very little in the way of modern conveniences when I was a young child. I am glad that I have those memories. Thanks for refreshing them for me here Wil!

Martha Z said...

Yes, I sometimes wonder if we really need all the stuff for which we use electricity. I have gotten out of the habit of using the dishwasher and I find washing dishes by hand is actually pleasant. My clothes dryer is rarely used but I don't think I would like to wash clothes by hand.

My two most recent "My World" posts have featured visits to historic sites that predate electricity.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Oh yes, Wil - we are so lucky and as Sylvia so rightly says, it is good to be reminded so that we don't take these things forgranted.

Kay said...

I'm really grateful we have our solar panels to harness electricity just because we're using so much of it these days.

 gmirage said...

really amazing that I can understand your captions even if I only learned German...love these features..we'vecome far technology wise but nothing beats the memories of old :)

EG CameraGirl said...

Life sure would be different without electricity. Whenever the power goes out here I get a taste of how hard life must have been without it,

Marja said...

NAmazing how much has changed and yes we take these things for granted. When we were without electricity for a couple of days after the quake you realised how much you depended on it. You felt kind of helpless

Arija said...

Wil, many of the things you list were of course not there for ordinary households, but elevators and escalators certainly did in highscrapers and department stores in major cities. There were checkouts too, only the tills were manual ones.

Really enjoyed your post!

Barbara said...

After seeing your photos I am so glad we have electricity.

Roger Owen Green said...

This is a shocking post!

No, I'm really glad for electricity.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

George said...

Thanks for a very interesting post. My grandparents did not have an electric refrigerator or central heat. I like the conveniences of electricity, but I agree that the environment would probably be healthier if we used less of it.

Pat - Arkansas said...

When I was about 5 yrs. old, my father and I visited his mother in the 1904-built family home. There was no electricity. Nighttime lighting was provided by kerosene lamps, clothes were boiled and scrubbed on a washboard and hung out to dry. Cooking was done on a wood stove, which also provided heat for the house in the winter. It was HOT in the summer time, and we slept on the roof. No air-conditioning, no fans. I loved being there, anyway.

Kay L. Davies said...

Oh yes, the good old days. I remember having no central heating, and no refrigerator (we did have an icebox) and definitely no dishwasher. That was my job! And, for about eight months after we built our new house, we managed without electricity, and twice that long without running water, but we were happy.
Thanks for the memories, Wil.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Vicki Lane said...

Great post, Wil We have lived without electricity and could do it again -- I would miss the refrigerator and the washing machine the most, I think. And, of course, the computer.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I am glad I am living in this era. I can't survive without my washing machine, fridge and mirco wave oven. And now, the computer and internet.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for electricity! It's minus 20 C outside so we wouldn't do well without it...

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

we could not live without it,
lovely E take.
have fun.

Jane and Chris said...

A thought provoking post for sure.
Without electricity we would not even be able to get water from our well.I am truly thankful for electricity.
Jane x

anthonynorth said...

Yes, there's so little we don't need electricity for nowadays. We're becoming far too dependent.

photowannabe said...

Thanks for the reminders. Its so easy to take everything for granted. I'm grateful for the conveniences and i try to be wise with the resources. I really don't want to go back to the way it was 70 years ago.

Hildred said...

They were simpler days and we managed without too much trouble. Sometimes I think 'the world is too much with us' and we would be better off without some of the things we take for granted. A little difficulty builds a lot of character... Our son and DIL live off the grid and manage well with computer and fridge and washing machine with energy from solar panels. It can be done!

Anonymous said...

The most significant function of electricity is that it makes things easy.
200 years ago the fastest mode of transport was by ship. now we reach anywhere in the world in less than a day.
To lose it now would end us, i'm sure. lol

Tumblewords: said...

So true. I mentioned to a 7-year-old that my home didn't have a phone until I was in high school. He asked if I was born before Alexander Graham Bell. Still laughing, kind of. :)

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Yes, electricity has changed our lives forever in ways that are both good and bad.
Although it would seem that life without electricity is impossible, I think that we are adaptive enough to cope with it, albeit, unpleasant!

Rinkly Rimes said...

We're probably heading back toward those days! It's good to stop and think sometimes.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Wow lotsa E!

E is for Eyes that Glow

Wanda said...

What great pictures. I love all my appliances...however, I'll be 70 in May, and I've never had a dishwasher. Guess you can't miss what you've never had.

Enjoyed you post, and I'm made very thankful again.

Jeannette StG said...

Oh my goodness, een wasbord -dat is heel lang geleden dat ik dat gezien heb (I don't even know the English word for it, lol)

Janice Thomson said...

Excellent post yet again Wil - you're a lady right after my own heart with some of your ideas. I don't have all the electric gadgets that most have - nor a stove either - and I sure don't miss them. It's amazing what one doesn't really need...