Why Door Stops Were Invented...

Once we got the dog we realized that we needed to get an industrial sized power vac to pick up all his fur that sheds. So Tom installed one in the garage (it's like the kind you see at car washes) and it has an attached 30 foot hose so we can drag it around the family room and kitchen pretty easily. It works great but I always DREAD using it because I have to prop open the door leading to the garage and it NEVER stays open because of this stupid door stop. Half my time is spent running back to the door to re-prop it open because it always shuts during the vacuuming process and clamps down on the hose.

So today I'm getting ready to haul out the 30 footer and I use this little piece of wood with a suction on the bottom to prop the door open. The door stays open for all of 3.5 seconds and as I start to drag in the hose, the door slams shut. I struggle with this for quite a while and now several minutes go by and I'm sweating and swearing and I haven't even started to vacuum. I realize that if I remove the stupid door stop then I will be able to open the door completely and then wedge my wood piece all the way under the door so that should secure it better. So I do that. And it works! I'm finally able to start vacuuming and I do it for the first time without the door ever slamming shut!

I finish vacuuming and return to the garage to store the hose in it's place while the door stays in it's welcoming, wide open position. I think to myself, "Why do we even need a doorstop? This is working out fine. I'll just be extra careful when I come in from the garage, as not to thrust open the door with any force." I decide that this is the way to go and I head back into the house so I can finish cleaning. After a few minutes I'm low on paper towels so I head back into the garage to our supply stash and carry in a bunch of rolls. My arms are pretty full so I'm just able to feel for the doorknob with my hand so I turn to open it and then kick open the door with my foot.

Big mistake.





So I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to Osbourn Dorsey who not only invented the doorstop (cir.1878) but also developed improvements for the standard door knob (thanks Google). This leads me to wonder if there exists a doorknob encased in some type of a rubberized coating. I think that's actually a great idea. It's like having two inventions in one! I'm going to have to do a little more Googling on this. But first, I've got some patching up to do.