Danger-Proof: A History of the Samson Safe-Flex Fan

Before air-conditioning, electric fans provided brought cool breezes and new comfort, as well as new dangers, to homes and businesses across the country. Join me as I explore the hazards of early fans and put the "danger-proof" Samson Safe-Flex Fan to the test.
Sources:
Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything, Salvatore Basile, 2014
30,000 Years of Inventions, Thomas Craughwell, 2012 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/de...)
“Cool Comfort: Innovations in Electric Cooling,” Museum of Innovation & Science, Google Arts & Culture (artsandculture...)
“Electric Fans,” Yonkers Statesman, Oct 22, 1884 (via newspapers.com)
“Electric Fan Wires Carried Deadly Current,” The Times, Jul 25, 1897 (via newspapers.com)
“Electric Fans,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, Jul 30, 1887 (via newspapers.com)
“Electric Fans in Theaters,” Lincoln Evening News, Aug 10, 1893 (via newspapers.com)
“Lady Clerk Injured in Very Peculiar Accident,” Appleton Post, Aug 1, 1907 (via newspapers.com)
“Finger Caught in Electric Fan,” The Salina Daily Union, Jul 10, 1908 (via newspapers.com)
“Fingers Chewed in Electric Fan,” The Morning Call, Jul 15, 1908 (via newspapers.com)
“Mr. Hatfield Met with Accident,” The Daily Mail, Jul 14, 1909 (via newspapers.com)
“New Electric Fan Unique,” The Cassville Index, Oct 17, 1912 (via newspapers.com)
“Samson Safe-Flex: Silence! Safety!: Now a Safe-Flex Fan for Every Need,” Samson-United Corporation, 1938 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/de...)
“Net Loss Reported by Samson United,” Democrat and Chronicle, Mar 24, 1950 (via newspapers.com)
“New Head Elected at Samson-United,” Democrat and Chronicle, Jul 6, 1950 (via newspapers.com)
“Court Awards Samson Assets to Bickford Co.,” Democrat and Chronicle, Apr 21, 1953 (via newspapers.com)
“How Many Own - Household Penetration,” Housewares MarketWatch, Vol. 3, No. 4, ca. 2004 (www.housewares...)
“Ceiling Fans Return,” Joan Kron, The New York Times, Apr 28, 1977 (www.nytimes.co...)
“The Ceiling Fan: Updated and Popular,” Daryln Brewer, The New York Times, Jul 2, 1987 (www.nytimes.co...)
“Whirlwind History of Ceiling Fans,” Los Angeles Times from the Washington Post, Jul 12, 1997
“Bringing in the Big Fans,” Michael Tortorello, The New York Times, Jun 15, 2011 (www.nytimes.co...)
“Air Conditioning and Other Appliances Increase Residential Electricity Use in the Summer,” U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), May 22, 2017 (www.eia.gov/to...)
“Stay Cool and Save Energy,” Kendra Pierre-Louis, Henry Fountain and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times, Jun 6, 2018 (www.nytimes.co...)

[@elidanko1912]

Something you may have not noticed on the fan, the rubber on the cord is cracked by the switch. (Right where the cord goes into the base). This could lead to arcing in the near future. I'd get the cord replaced.

[@SamZarifYT]

If you convert the price of $3.95 from the first of the Samson fans from the 30’s, they come out to a price of $75 to $80. Not a bad price for a high quality fan!

[@thevintagecompany]

Great point!

[@alexcamacho1842]

I have one of these, it was given to my great grandmother when she was pregnant with one of my great uncles to keep her cool. I found it in my grandmother’s basement when I just turned thirteen, choked with dust bunnies. I took it apart best I could then to clean it, got it working again, and then a couple of years ago (12 years later) my dad and I REALLY took it apart, cleaned and oiled it, and I am using it as I type this. It’s probably due for another oiling though...

[@thevintagecompany]

Love this! Thank you for sharing!

[@studestudestude]

I was given one 20 years ago and it worked great but now I haVE TO REPLACE THE CORD...... Can you still get blades for these things???

[@DBVintage]

Well I don’t have one of those I do have several antique and vintage fans that I run around the house. They usually get rewired and completely service and work great. They’re very quiet and smooth running .

[@SRCVintageElectronics]

Look up the Singer Ribbonaire. It’s another safe fan that was advertised around the same time.

[@user-mg9zo5zg7g]

Years ago when I was growing up in the 1960s fans did not have alot of covering over the blades. Back then knowone was silly enough to stick their fingers in the fan while it was running it was just good ole common sense.

[@fanssmoothiesandantiques7443]

Fans made more than 60 years ago: Made well and move lots of air. Fans made today: cheap junk and move little to no air.

[@Drinkyoghurt]

I bought a $30 fan this summer and the stand had bent legs from the factory. It was made from the thinnest metal and the cheapest, thinnest plastic I'd ever seen and barely produced any breeze but did produce a lot of noise from all the vibrations. I instantly returned it. Just bought a vintage fan because in my experience with old gear is that they're usually built like a tank. I still have old 70s clock radios that work fine after a resoldering job.

[@fanssmoothiesandantiques7443]

@@Drinkyoghurt new stuff is just cheap garbage

[@Connectitthefancollector]

Got one with rubber blades from the 1950s branded as GEC bullet fan. It doesn’t hurt from the front and it slightly hurts from the back due to how fast they spin, but they are well made and high quality.

[@noneck3099]

were you on the DT Vintage fans forum?

[@Connectitthefancollector]

@@noneck3099 Not from my knowledge no

[@noneck3099]

@@Connectitthefancollector was about 15 years ago...more relaxed than AFCA...i'm a fan collector in Western Australia.

[@Connectitthefancollector]

@@noneck3099 ok yeah i only started fan collecting 3.5 years ago so definitely not lol. And dam I haven’t seen many fan collectors from Australia so that is different

[@RavikantRai21490]

Oh wow I just discovered this channel, it's such a hidden gem. Surprisingly low number of subscribers. I thought it'd be like 100s of thousands. Nonetheless, amazing content.

[@thevintagecompany]

Thank you! 😊

[@williamworth2746]

One of these is available on Facebook marketplace

[@RichieRouge206]

Brilliant video!

[@Dsfgxfdd]

Great video!

[@Rosenbar731]

I wonder if there was a connection between Samson United and Samsonite luggage. Samsonite had a logo resembling 4 fan blades.

[@ShieyV2komputroniks]

I live in a country without ac in apartements and my favorite are 90s/2000s fans, used a new one once , didnt perform. My 90s one has size of a desk fan but Performance of one of those hv floor fans

[@ethanfitton6336]

The problem is with people putting their fingers in the blades of the fan, if people stop putting their fingers in the fan blades, there wouldn't need a desk fan with rubber blades.

[@mayaytpmaker738]

I have a 1990s/early 2000s Home-Line fan that still works but... when I turn it on the entire top part just shakes for a little bit. But eventually it figures out that it shouldn't be shaking and returns to normal. But idk if that's very safe so I don't turn it on also I don't want to get my hair caught in the motor....... Update I'll do a video of it.. if ur curious on what it looks like

[@ronghe79]

And a modern fans and a.c's best suited for people who Live in a old house and cant afford central air or that new fangled system that is hvac.

[@noneck3099]

Fans before this did have cages...not really sure where the misconception that the cage would decrease the fans ability would have come from as some of the 1900- 1930's USA and ITALIAN fans are f.cking terrifying how fast they go...in saying that i have a RUSSIAN or CCCP fan with leather blades, and several UK and AUSTRALIAN rubber blade variants..once plastic came in post WW2 this idea was never seen again. I feel for the children of today that can't stick their fingers in electrical appliances... ..don't know what they're missing...lol

[@solinus7131]

Modern, tighter cages do indeed decrease the airflow on fans. As for vintage fans, probabaly not

[@MattsFans]

"terrifying how fast they go" *cough* ge aou *cough*

[@caloysales5593]

still working

[@rocketsupergaming8926]

How much?

[@caloysales5593]

I am selling an antique electric fan 70 yrs old