(1) Nowadays ... ease with which we can wash our clothes is taken for granted. All we have to do is pop our laundry into the washing machine, put in some washing powder, make sure the settings are correct and switch on. However, this basic appliance has only become ... common feature of most households since the 1950s.

(2) The first mechanical washing machines were in ... use as far back as the 1700s, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that they were taken seriously and developed. Eventually the washing machine became ... status symbol because it was well outside the price range of the average family.

(3) As soon as the washing machine became affordable, Monday, or “wash day", changed completely.... tiring job of washing clothes by ... hand disappeared forever and was transformed into the simple task it is today.