Sunday, August 28, 2016
Random ergonomic thought
When you stop and think, push-pull knobs are flatout PECULIAR.
Before 1930 most electrical controls in cars were turn-knobs, just like most electrical controls in houses and radios. Sometime in the '30s, American cars started using pull knobs, and continued with a few exceptions until the late '70s. Pushbuttons had a brief vogue around 1940, and Chrysler returned to turn-knobs briefly in the early '50s. Otherwise it was mainly push-pull for everything. Switches, chokes, vents, door locks, even parking brakes.
Push-pull controls NEVER appeared on house wiring or appliances or radios. After 1940 houses moved from turn to toggle switches with a few pushbuttons. Radios** and appliances*** continued with turn-knobs until replaced by digital click-buttons or touch screens.
Euro cars mostly**** continued the original turn-knobs, with some toggles on sporty models and rockers in the '60s. Around 1970 Euro and Jap cars standardized firmly on big turn-knobs.
So push-pulls are pretty much gone from ALL equipment now. Do I miss them? No. They were electrically fragile and dangerously protrusive. When used for mechanical purposes like vents or thermostats, they required a 'pushable' cable, which was maximally tricky to maintain.
The real question is why they became universal, not why they disappeared.
= = = = =
** I can only think of one pull control on a radio. It was an Airline tube portable from 1958, with a pair of little rectangular pull switches for battery and AC power. There must have been a few others.
*** And one on appliances: the alarm knob on wind-up or analog electric alarm clocks.
**** Some Euro and Jap cars tried push-pull when they first broke into the American market, but didn't stay with it very long. Must have realized the familiarity factor wasn't worth the trouble.
When you stop and think, push-pull knobs are flatout PECULIAR.
Before 1930 most electrical controls in cars were turn-knobs, just like most electrical controls in houses and radios. Sometime in the '30s, American cars started using pull knobs, and continued with a few exceptions until the late '70s. Pushbuttons had a brief vogue around 1940, and Chrysler returned to turn-knobs briefly in the early '50s. Otherwise it was mainly push-pull for everything. Switches, chokes, vents, door locks, even parking brakes.
Push-pull controls NEVER appeared on house wiring or appliances or radios. After 1940 houses moved from turn to toggle switches with a few pushbuttons. Radios** and appliances*** continued with turn-knobs until replaced by digital click-buttons or touch screens.
Euro cars mostly**** continued the original turn-knobs, with some toggles on sporty models and rockers in the '60s. Around 1970 Euro and Jap cars standardized firmly on big turn-knobs.
So push-pulls are pretty much gone from ALL equipment now. Do I miss them? No. They were electrically fragile and dangerously protrusive. When used for mechanical purposes like vents or thermostats, they required a 'pushable' cable, which was maximally tricky to maintain.
The real question is why they became universal, not why they disappeared.
= = = = =
** I can only think of one pull control on a radio. It was an Airline tube portable from 1958, with a pair of little rectangular pull switches for battery and AC power. There must have been a few others.
*** And one on appliances: the alarm knob on wind-up or analog electric alarm clocks.
**** Some Euro and Jap cars tried push-pull when they first broke into the American market, but didn't stay with it very long. Must have realized the familiarity factor wasn't worth the trouble.
Labels: Asked and unanswered
¶ 2:29 PM
