I was reading the thread that talked about how the 7-11 ice machines looked like a washer. Well I read a book about household appliances through the ages and how their shapes and designs were influenced by current trends in society. Eaxample, back in the days of the freight/passenger trains, most vacuum cleaners were designed to look like a train. The other day as I was in Wal Mart checking out the electrical space heaters, I wasnt sure if they were computer towers and modems or heaters. How many other appliances have you noticed lately in the past few years that have been influenced by computer design trends? I could name a few more but that may spoil this thread.

An obvious one, perhaps, but certainly the flat-screen TV and the computer monitor. Although I'm not sure which was the chicken and which was the egg, come to think of it...

I have a sub woofer attached to my pc aswell as to the dvd and the subwoofer itself is very similair in design even though bought couple of years apart. i'l be scanning everywhere now lol

I’ve always found it interesting how current trends (of the day) influenced the designs of appliances. For example, mid-1950 electric stove panels were highly influenced by automobile dashboards; the oven dial would typically be on the left side and the clock would be on the right. The panel would also be shaped as though you were sitting behind the steering wheel with all of the chrome and Lucite. Automatic washers and dryers also received their initial styling from the same automobile dashboards, where the dials would typically be on the right side, as most operators were right-handed.

Another interesting design was how the sewing machine sews: needle on the top, bobbin/shuttle underneath. This was due to the way people use to sew: from top-down. While this design was not influenced by any current trend, it was the trend handed down thru the centuries from mother to daughter. A sewing machine could be just as effective if the needle came from the bottom, and the bobbin/shuttle was placed on the top of the fabric (similar to a serger).

Finally, another curiosity was that on very early electric ranges, the elements were large flat circular plates, like the ones used with wood/coal burning stoves. Yet, these early plates had coiled or circular elements underneath, providing the heat source. Somewhere in the 1920s the flat plate was removed to expose the coiled elements which are still being used today. Funny, though, seems we’ve come full circle: the latest trend is to have “flat” top stoves. Strange how all these technological advances seem to return to where it all originates!

This is probably better suited to the Deluxe Thread category, but I've been dismayed over the past many years to see upright vacuum cleaners all being designed to look like the wack-a-doodle Dyson e.g. a phantasmagoric plastic toy, rather than the calm sensible Hoover design of the late 50's. I don't care to watch my carpet dirt circulate inside a cylinder and I would rather see more design might being spent on improving mobility and accessibility.

Obviously, a screen control on a washing machine or another appliance is from the computer generation of design. I saw a scrub pad with holder that looked like a mouse for a computer. I would not be suprised to see a radio frequency or cellular chip in washers, dryers, furnace/air conditioners/ light switches/CD players,etc whereby the whole thing can be programmed from either a remote or local keyboard and screen, or handheld, all the while monitoring the energy use and best time to run the appliances, with alerts and recommendtions.

In response to above posts: thanks for your input. I never noticed the stove issue. But it has come complete circle with folks liking the flat top burners which by the way I recieved a 2-burner (flat top) buffet range for my last birthday. It is made by Rival, for whom I know very little about but Wal Mart sells alot of thier products. I sure like it. I like it because I can take it outdoors to fry foods that stink up the house.