Things we take for granted in western society.

There are lots of things that fit my title but the one that came to mind today was the lowly ice cube in my freezer. 150 years ago it took a lot of effort to preserve ice into the summer months in most inhabited places. Now I just go into my kitchen and grab a few to put in my iced tea.
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Bob DeWoody

My grandmother initially had an ICE BOX in a 4th floor apartment in New York city. SHe would holler down to the Ice Man out of a window and he would carry up a 100 lb block of ice on a leather "apron' over his shoulder. He was a slight fellow maybe weighed less than 140 lbs himself.

Later on she had a refrigerator that used Ammonia as the refrigerant. It was leaking one day--I can still remember the smell.