The Housewives vs. The Homemakers

Today, in 1819, Elias Howe was born. Elias was an

American inventor of a sewing machine in 1846, which "changed the habits of millions of housewives throughout the world."(1)

One hundred years later, I doubt there was an American home that didn't have a sewing machine. 

Nearly two-hundred years later... . Heck. There are no more housewives, considerably fewer homemakers. And sewing machines? The crappy old stuff of museums.

(1) Mary E. Hazeltine. Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them. American Library Association, Chicago. 1965.