An expensive-looking front loader gives its all. It does not go gently …but keeps up the good fight astonishingly long after its parts begin to fly off. This would make a decent ad for the make and model, much better than the washing machine destroyed previously. You have to start feeling sorry for the little machine that just kept going and going and going. -via The Daily What

Update: The original video, uploaded last fall by Aussie50, has more information:

Concrete counterweights and good spare parts were removed from this before doing this test

Kudos to Photonicinduction for inspiring/encouraging me to perfect the washing machine kill cycle!

and if you have any doubts about what went in around the 3:40 mark, it was a motor from a similar machine, not a cat or dog like some idiots are claiming!…. sicko’s!

Thanks, Croccydile!

When officers arrived they allegedly found cash, “laying all over the area.” Police also say that several residents were out in the hallways complaining about Veras was banging on their doors and running around.

Police eventually found Veras on the first floor in the laundry room, allegedly trying to stuff money into a washing machine. Officers say he did not live at the apartment, had no reason to be there and — what’s more — was the one who pulled the fire alarm in the first place.

Police say they found over $1,000 scattered throughout the halls and in the washer.

Veras was arrested for trespassing. He apparently has a mistaken notion of what money laundering really entails. Link -via Arbroath

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will soon get a respite from having to wear stinky clothes: NASA is commissioning a washer-dryer combo:

Imagine putting dirty clothes into a washing machine, leaving, and only coming back once the freshly cleaned clothes have been dried out by microwaves. That out-of-this-world-laundry concept could someday become a reality for astronauts and space explorers headed for the moon, asteroids or Mars.

Such a washing machine is designed to clean dirty astronaut clothing inside a sealed plastic bag that can also receive a drying blast of microwaves. The simple one-step process represents an energy- and water-efficient solution that spares space travelers from hauling a water-intensive washing machine up into space or bringing along disposable clothing.

Which brings the obvious question to mind: what have they been doing with their clothes?

The Daily Mail has the answer:

Brave - and strong-stomached - astronauts usually wear underwear for three or four days before putting them in a capsule that is ejected and burns up in the atmosphere. Other clothes are worn 'for months'.

So if you saw a streak of light in the sky, and you thought you've been wishing upon a falling star, think again. That may just be some astronaut's underwear. Thanks Tiffany!

UK's Kingston University design student Lee Wei Chen realized that the skills he developed playing a lot of video games are practically useless in real life, so he set out to do something about it.

Behold, the washing machine/arcade combo, where the likelihood of getting your clothes cleaned depends on your ability to play the game:

The machine looks like an arcade style video console – but the bottom half of the unit is a washing machine, with the components’ circuitry linked together. Therefore, the washing cycle is dependent on the success of the person playing the game, meaning that if they struggle, extra coins are needed to make sure the washing cycle is completed.

Chen’s course leader, Colin Holden, says, ‘He’s chosen two instantly recognisable objects – a washing machine and an arcade game – to illustrate this idea. Together the two objects produce a striking new electronic device. It’s an extremely well-executed design concept.’

Despite the genius behind the idea, it seems Chen is still far from becoming a domestic god, remaining blissfully unaware of the nuances of actually washing clothes.

‘I don’t even know how to choose the programme,’ he says.

Link - via Core77

I sense a fatal flaw in Chen's project. I mean, clean clothes? What video gamers actually care about wearing clean clothes?

Well, that’s not how the rest of the world do laundry. Many people still wash their clothes by hand – but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a little hack to automate the process a bit.

Here’s how a clever and/or lazy Chinese student does laundry: Link [YouTube clip]

Previously on Neatorama: Poor Man’s Hot Water Heater

It might not have been the most stylish, but for decades the top-loading laundry machine was the most affordable and dependable. Now it’s ruined—and Americans have politics to thank.

In 1996, top-loaders were pretty much the only type of washer around, and they were uniformly high quality. When Consumer Reports tested 18 models, 13 were "excellent" and five were "very good." By 2007, though, not one was excellent and seven out of 21 were "fair" or "poor." This month came the death knell: Consumer Reports simply dismissed all conventional top-loaders as "often mediocre or worse."

How’s that for progress?

The culprit is the federal government’s obsession with energy efficiency. Efficiency standards for washing machines aren’t as well-known as those for light bulbs, which will effectively prohibit 100-watt incandescent bulbs next year. Nor are they the butt of jokes as low-flow toilets are. But in their quiet destruction of a highly affordable, perfectly satisfactory appliance, washer standards demonstrate the harmfulness of the ever-growing body of efficiency mandates.

Link

Robocop the cat can’t help himself -there are too many things running around in the washing machine! -via Cynical-C

He turned on a washing machine and then threw a large rock inside. He writes:

I still laugh at this one, the way it exploded,
I am in trouble for doing in a few plants…Oops.

via The Presurfer

You’ve seen awesome panoramas of landscapes, now see something truly different: a panoramic photograph of the inside of a washing machine! Jump inside and take a look around. Try it full-screen for the best experience. And marvel at the socks that will go as matching, but will never be seen together again! Link

As the last bit of water was pumped out and it clicked into gear I immediately knew there was something strange a foot. The rumble was too low, almost subaudible but it had a clatter in it’s note that said ‘You’re going to regret living with me’. And it was right.
The temperature started to drop in the room, white frosty steam started appearing in my breath, the light bulbs dimmed, flickering as they dulled, and then it hit. Full force, completely out of no-where like a freight train roaring through an empty station at full speed in the night, while you stand at the platform clutching at your belongings as the wind roars and the scraping heavy steel monster goes hurtling past in front of you at 100mph. The difference though between a freight train and the washing machine is that in a matter of seconds the train has passed and you are back sitting in silence with your beating heart. With the washing machine it’s relentless. You have nowhere to hide, the sound will find you and bash on your skull with an aluminium frypan and snatch the words away from your mouth as you yell out for help.
I got used to sitting outside on my doorstep a lot that year. It was a concrete house and the walls were thick. Outside you could still hear the machine smashing away inside like a rock drill and but least it took away the frypan on the head element.

Whittaker also describes the time the washing machine vibrated so badly that a porthole portal to another dimension opened above it. He put the washing machine up for sale on the New Zealand auction site TradeMe with a reserve of $1. After intense bidding and over 800,000 views, the machine sold for $5,160. The retail chain that bought it may take it on tour. Link to website. Link to news story. -via Digg

A middle-school student in Guandong province in China figured out a way to run a washing machine without electricity. 

He rigged up a washing machine to a stationary bicycle and pedaled until the clothes were clean. He demonstrated that you can wash your clothes, keep in shape, and protect the environment at the same time.

Link – via twitter

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

In 1970, consumer electronics maker Sanyo wanted to improve your daily ablutions. It came up with this: the Ultrasonic Bath AKA the Human Washing Machine.

Pink Tentacle has more (including a video clip of the contraption in action): Link