June 2023

THREE IN ONE: vacuum cleaner, fan and flashlight

Vacuum cleaners, fans and lamps also find themselves in the flood of today’s gadgets that make our lives easier. Vacuums come in handheld, robotic, upright, and standard varieties with an electric cable that often gets stuck on a piece of furniture during the task, resulting in a less effective outcome as some remote corners become unreachable. Fans can be standing, oscillating, or ceiling-mounted, commonly used in places with even hotter climates than our own. Handheld flashlights of all kinds and shapes can direct their light very far and, with improved LED technology, they are excellent tools for nighttime hikes and explorations. But what if all three devices existed in one? Well, they do or they did. The orange color of the 1970s could be associated with various electrical and battery-powered assistants: scales, coffee grinders, irons, radios, televisions—and even hanging lights, if you remember the Meblo pull-down lamp that illuminated many kitchen tables. The object of the month of June is something special, as it seems humorous at first glance. Contemplating its purpose undoubtedly brings a smile to one’s face. Perhaps this Museum`s device became handy during vacations, which were already well-established in the everyday lives of individuals in the 1970s. The 1970s were the period when modernization most prominently manifested itself in our daily lives: within a generation, electrification and motorization took place, people bought their first television, and went on their first vacations. Memories of the 1970s are very vivid in a positive sense, while memories of other decades of life in Slovenia in socialist Yugoslavia can evoke contrasting feelings. Item number AK18230 was manufactured in Hong Kong, China, and imported to our market through the TOZD Iskra company and bought in 1987. It remained neatly packaged and unused in its original packaging until it found a place in our museum collection. Let the imagination run free and believe that vacation trips were less sweltering, cleaner, and evenings more exciting precisely because of these charming devices we present as the object of the month.

Predmet tri v enem in pripadajoča škatla.

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