Nope, I guess not, so maye a furnace doesn't qualify. But John had more words about other appliances, "Did you know a lot of the old Maytag wringer washers had gasoline engines powering them? Well lots of homes still did not have electricity, but had a need for a washing machine. Oh yes these washers were located outside. In old San Francisco homes it is quite common to find one of the old concrete wash sinks in the basement. Do you Margaret know how this wash sink worked? Talk about manual operation. Well one side was used for washing, and the other side for rinsing. A manual crank wringer was attached to the side of the sink. Got that job down in your mind? Yes, you manually wash things using your scrub board in the wash sink, rinse the clothes under the faucet, then hand crank them through the wringer, and hang them up on the line to dry. One of my friend's wash sink had an electric agitator that could be lowered down into the wash sink to wash  the cloths for you. Talk about a modern  appliance... well for the early 1900's I guess it was. Still in love with that furnace?"

My furnace is losing out over the washing machine now. Although when I just talked to my mom in the midwest tonight she sure is glad to have that furnace, I can tell you.

Penny wrote one about her hair dryer, it's in the collection, so if you are a subscriber you can see it there. And I like her poufy hair, by the way, nice photo!

And Ken said, "Googling "define: appliance" gives, among other things, "Appliance: A household device operated by use of electricity or gas. Not included in this definition are components covered under central heating, central cooling or plumbing." It's number six on the list.  However, I think you should feel free to expand on the definition. "

Ken also said, "Funny connected story. My father was in the IRA before he left Ireland. That was the old IRA, not the revived IRA from the 60s which became more of a terrorist organization. He was jailed briefly before leaving the country sometime around 1917. Anyway, it happened that the old washing machine quit draining one day. Dad and my cousin, who was a machinist, took the machine apart. Unbelievable -- blocking the drain was a George VI sixpence. (We never did figure out how it got there.) My father looked at it and said, "That #^%*&*@ made my life hell in Ireland. Then he had to follow me eight thousand miles across land and sea to screw up my washing machine in San Francisco."