Does your kitchen have a ‘work triangle’? Meet the Mother of the Modern Kitchen. Plus a special poem in honor of Memorial Day.
The date is May 24th, Friday, and today I’m coming to you from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Today is the birthday of Lillian Moller Gilbreth, an industrial/organizational psychologist. The title sounds fancy, but it’s really quite practical. She, along with her husband Frank Gilbreth ran a consulting business, helping companies increase productivity and efficiency in their systems. They were particularly looking at things on the human level.
A lot of their early work was on how to increase worker efficiency. In one instance, they recommended adjustments to machinery to fit the height of each worker would make for more comfortable and efficient movements. In another, they determined that changing the tone and brightness of the lighting in the workspace would decrease the employees’ eyestrain, thereby increasing productivity. Today we recognize this as ergonomics.
When Frank Gilbreth passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack, their business took a hit. Frank had struck most of the deals with executives and Lillian found the contacts unwilling to deal with a woman. Soldiering on, Lillian carved out a niche in household markets. She found that she could leverage her motherhood to her advantage. Household brands like Johnson & Johnson and General Electric became top customers for Lillian.
She is credited for inventing, among other things, the wall switch and foot-pedal trash can, and for adding shelves to refrigerators. Gilbreth helped popularize kitchen layouts that included the “work triangle” which has the fridge, sink, and stove creating a triangle.
The Gilbreth children said their mother’s own kitchen was a paragon of efficiency, though the only thing she could cook well was cake.
The Gilbreths consistently involved their 11 children in home efficiency experiments. The often hilarious results were chronicled by their son & daughter in the memoirs Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes.
Come Monday, we will be celebrating Memorial Day. Memorial Day has evolved over the years to be the unofficial kick-off to summer in America, with parties, barbeques, and sometimes fireworks.
The real reason for the holiday though is to remember the servicemen and -women who lost their lives fighting for the United States. The holiday has conflicting origins but is generally recognized as one that started after the civil war as a day to remember those lost in battle.
Sometimes called ‘Decoration Day’ early Memorial Day celebrations often took place at cemeteries. Family members gathered to decorate the graves of loved ones, often sharing memories and a meal together on the scenic cemetery grounds. Perhaps this is where we get the notion that Memorial Day is a day to cook something on the grill and be outside, enjoying the first hints of summer.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson