Chicago Innovations That Changed the World-- Part 1: Vacuum Cleaner and Mail-Order Retail

From the January 12, 2014, Chicago Tribune by James Janega. //// A lot of noteworthy things have been accomplished in Chicag in its 180 years and these are 20 of them. I will be listing and saying a little about some of them, but to see the whole thing, go to www.blueskyinnovation.com. //// 20. THE VACUUM CLEANER 1868-- Before 1868 and Ives W. McGaffey, "cleaning up" meant sweeping. McGaffey used prior technology in the area and created a $25 *(a real lot of money back then) machine that used a hand crank and models were sold in Chicago and Boston. Most were lost in the Chicago Fire of 1871, but two remain. // 19. MAIL-ORDER RETAIL (1872)-- Aaron Montgomery Ward came up with the idea of mail-order retail. In those days before the malls and such, store owners had the local monopoly and middle men ran up prices. Ward's idea was to buy inventory with cash, cut selling costs by eliminating retail overhead and deliver drygoods at local train stations. Farmers were his primary market. Sears soon followed suit and the great catalogs came to be. I sure loved looking at the catalogs while I was growing up, especially the Christmas ones when I was a kid. //// Especially the Soldier sets Like Blue and Gray. --Cooter