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It's been hot here in Texas, and some days the statewide wine of air conditioners

grows loud enough to herald the straining of the electrical grid.

And when that happens as demand grows too close to capacity,

I get a notice that we all need to conserve.

Of course, because I'm a considerate citizen, I oblige.

No one wants the power to fail when it's 108 degrees outside.

Also, how would I record this episode without electricity?

So the thermostat goes up a few degrees,

and we postpone the use of any major appliances, like the washing machine.

Ah, the washing machine.

I don't really give it that much thought.

It's a big metal box that sits in our house most of the time doing nothing.

Then when we do use it, it does a pretty mundane task.

It cleans our clothes.

No one likes to stain on their shirts, so clean clothes are nice.

But getting them clean wasn't always this easy.

It turns out there is a whole vivid and interesting history of laundry,

which for most of human civilization was considered women's work.

So for this topic, we turn to the fantastic podcast,

...