For my birthday, I received the book "The Vacuum Cleaner - A History" by Carroll Gantz.

So far the book is interesting but hardly compelling due to its rather dry "textbook" style.

I have the book in "the smallest room of the house," and read a few pages at a time while relaxing in there. However, I almost completed the job of "relaxing" in a Grand Instant when I read the following incredible sentence:

"[Hoover] also made a commercial version [of the Model O] weighing 60 pounds and having an 18-inch nozzle."

Holly Agitator, Batman! CAN you IMAGINE stumbling across one of those?! Talk about the Holy Grail to end all Holy Grails!!!!!

As Billy Lipman would say, "HAVE you EVER?!"

If you don't have the book, you should get it! There are lots of great photos in there (just wish some of them were in color).