Did you know that the first patent for a mechanical dishwasher was issued in 1850 to Joel Houghton? His design involved a wire basket with a handle to hold the dishes, which was then turned by a hand-crank. This early dishwasher was not very practical and did not gain widespread popularity. It wasn't until 1886 when Josephine Cochrane invented the first practical dishwasher. She designed a dishwasher with a rack to hold the dishes in place, and a high-pressure water spray to clean them. Her invention was a hit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and she went on to found the company that eventually became KitchenAid. Another interesting fact about home appliances is that the first electric toaster was invented in 1893 by Crompton & Company. This early toaster could only toast one side of the bread at a time and required the user to turn the bread manually to toast the other side. Today, we take these home appliances for granted, but their inventors revolutionized the way we cook and clean. So next time you load your dishes into the dishwasher or pop bread into the toaster, take a moment to appreciate the ingenuity and hard work that went into creating these time-saving devices.