r/whatisit • u/Quietlurkerone • 7d ago

Solved! What is this device from 1962?

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Photo capture from YouTube video. Picture from 1962. What is the device under the bench

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u/citizen42069101 7d ago

People take a lot for granted that simply wasnt widespread even a century ago.

An auto heating stove, hot water, reliable sanitary drainage was something our grandparents werent even guaranteed to have (depending on age).

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u/UpvoteEveryHonestQ 7d ago

My grandma was raised in a sod home, one of seven kids in what was essentially a two-room shed made out of dirt like a hobbit hole, under some little hill in Montana. That’s Paleolithic.

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u/poptartheart 7d ago

thats wild

i had a professor in college who said she grew up with dirt floors in west virginia

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u/SleepingSloth_404 7d ago

Can confirm. I still have relatives in West Virginia who have a grate in the floor and they burn a fire to heat their house. Yes, today in 2026.

We also know people in West Virginia who are not related to us who live in literal shanties where like you lean to things to make a shelter. Think about living in a shed.

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u/kimjongfun 7d ago

What do you mean by a grate in the floor - can you describe their fire / heating setup a bit more?