[CottonBall]

“A new generation, from companies such as Rethink Robotics of Boston, ABB of Switzerland and Universal Robots of Denmark are dexterous enough to thread a needle and nimble enough to work beside humans. They can do repetitive and boring circuit board assembly and pack boxes.”

The unions should not have been so greedy and demanding. They can be replaced!

I wonder if the ice men were unionized, and that’s why the refrigerator was invented...

[doc11355]

I wonder if the ice men were unionized, and that’s why the refrigerator was invented...
You might be right, but I's suppose that the fact that the ice kept melting in the icebox and had to be replaced daily was the big driver...

[doc11355]

I wonder if the ice men were unionized, and that’s why the refrigerator was invented...

You might be right, but I's suppose that the fact that the ice kept melting in the icebox and had to be replaced daily was the big driver...

[Ozark Tom]

The original practical refrigeration used a hazardous refrigerant (ammonia or sulfur dioxide) which had exposure issues similar to mustard gas. Use required maintenance and operation people trained for it's hazards. The ice produced was a delivery device for a service to distribute cold, which was the actual product.

Carbon combined with fluorine and chlorine allowed relatively safe refrigerants to be manufactured for public use (Freon series).