Electric Blankets

October 9, 2009

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Friday, October 9th. As the weather gets colder, a bulky package will be taken out of closets in many homes across the country — where it has been stored since spring. Inside is an electric blanket, and homeowners will be testing their memories to make sure it’s hooked up correctly. For thousands of years, people used blankets made of wool topped with heavy comforters to ward off the cold. Now, we take the easy warmth of electric blankets for granted. The first such blanket went on sale on this date in 1946 in Petersburg, Virginia, at a cost of $39.50. Today, electric blankets are part of the $2.2 billion electric housewares industry. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4265
440 International, Those Were The Days
2002 Economic Census, NAICS 335211
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/E335211.HTM