Washboard

The Washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common, by the end of the 20th century the washboard became better known from its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument.

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The traditional washboard is usually constructed with a rectangular wooden frame in which are mounted a series of ridges for the clothing to be rubbed upon. In 19th century washboards the ridges were often of wood as well; in the 20th century ridges of metal became more common. In the late 20th century and early 21st century ridges of galvanized steel are most common. Washboards with brass ridges are still made, and some who use washboards as musical instruments prefer the sound of the somewhat more expensive brass boards.

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20th century: The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. Common usage sometimes regards it as lasting from 1900 to 1999, but this is often considered incorrect due to the nonexistence of a "Year Zero" before AD 1. The 20th century is also sometimes known as the nineteen hundreds (1900s)...

Musical instrument: A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument; but the expression is reserved generally to items that have that specif...

Wood: :This article describes the material produced by trees. For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation)....