Daily Life in a Rural Household @museum.de

F: One question, if I may: what‘s your routine on Mondays? In the old days, Monday was traditionally laundry day. The copper would be lit the night before, on Sunday, to make a start on heating the water. Then the laundry was washed in the washtub, perhaps using curd soap. Have you noticed the object that looks like large plunger?

M: It’s called a posser, or sometimes a possing-stick. It had a spring-loaded insert that acted like a pump. So the posser’s action added extra pressure, forcing the detergent through the laundry. Afterwards, the washing was rinsed in clear water, fed through the mangle and hung up to dry.

F: Over on your right, we have various utensils from a typical farmhouse kitchen on display. A range of waffle irons, a butter churn and several pots. There’s also an iron coffee grinder on the sideboard. The beans were first roasted on the stove in a pan-shaped roaster and then ground.

M: Have you noticed the small wooden frame right at the front? Any idea what it might be? Let me give you a hint: think of small, grey, lightning-fast furry animals that can become a real pest. Any ideas yet? In fact, the wooden frame is a three-in-one mousetrap. The larger frame next to it was designed to crush rats. Bait was used to attract the beasties, and then wham!... the trap was sprung.