April 19th. It is a day that often flies by unnoticed by the masses, but all kinds of interesting stuff happened throughout history on this day! The Simpsons debuted today in 1987. Japan's oldest living man at the time celebrated his final birthday in 2013. Apollo 16 was one day away from landing on the moon in 1972. The first U.S.A Boston marathon took place in 1897. Um...the movie Carousel premiered in 1945...
Clearly having to sit indoors during this "bonus winter" has left us a bit antsy and we've traveled down a rather odd rabbit hole on the internet. That being said, there really are a lot of fascinating things to learn about April 19th. There are also plenty of curious fun facts to learn about - you guessed it - floors! So, for no reason other than piqued interest, we're going to celebrate today with 19 fun facts about flooring.
1) Despite often being used as synonyms, vinyl and linoleum flooring are completely different types of floors! Vinyl is made of synthetic materials, while linoleum is all natural ingredients.
2) The carpet industry was born in the U.S. in Philadelphia during 1791 by William Sprague.
3) The oldest rug humans have discovered dates back to the 5th century B.C. It is known as the Pazyryk carpet, and was found in the mountains of Siberia.
4) Neglecting to vacuum your rug can result in a collection of several POUNDS of dirt, dust, and dead skin cells each year. And to think, people walk, lay down, and play in that mess!
5) The only thing that separates a rug from a carpet is size. The classification of a rug is extended to 40 square feet. Anything larger than that is considered a carpet.
6) Early versions of the vacuum cleaner, or "carpet sweeper", were run by oil, coal, and even by hand. These primitive contraptions could be difficult to use and sometimes required multiple people to operate them.
7) The idea of the "red carpet" began 458 B.C. by a man named Aeschylus.
8) You are able to sell your home at a higher rate if you have hardwood floors. Everyone seems to love the classics!
9) Bamboo is a natural, renewable resource that is comparable to steel in strength. It is becoming a more popular material for flooring, and we can definitely see why with its organic elegance.
10) The most expensive tiles in the world are embedded with mother of pearl, diamonds and black onyx. Tiles like this are priced at approximately $1 million per square meter BEFORE installation.
11) Wood floors are one of the most allergy-friendly flooring types you can buy. Easy to clean, easy to sanitize, easy to go about your day sneeze-free.
12) Before carpeting and other types of installed flooring was commonplace in homes, families would coat their dirt floors with a layer of straw to avoid slipping around.
13) Have you ever heard the phrase, "sweep it under the rug"? It was first used in 1963.
14) Ready to say "Ewwww"? You shed 1.5 million flakes of dead skin every hour. If that doesn't motivate you to clean your floor regularly, nothing will.
15) In the early 1920s, industrialist Marshall Field had changes made to a weaving loom to create the very first machine-made rug. This revolutionary process went on to be the foundation for Karastan's rug mill in 1926.
16) While it is an old-fashioned remedy, pouring a little club soda on a carpet spill and then sponging it up is still a great way to clean your floor!
17) If your house is filled with candles or crayons and a little wax happens to fall to the floor you can clean it up with a paper bag and an iron. Place the bag over the wax, then use the iron over the bag to get the wax to stick to the paper.
18)Your bathroom floor is often the most germ-covered place in your house.
19) The first mechanical vacuum cleaner was invented in our own Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1876 by one Melville Reuben Bissell.