Rediscovering The Benefits Of A Lazy Susan

Even though you may know what it is if you saw one, a Lazy Susan is in fact something many homeowners have in their residence. Lazy Susan's are the small rotating trays that sit in the center of dinner tables, and rotate so that each diner can reach whatever the Lazy Susan is carrying. Vintage Lazy Susan is made from wood often similar to the weight and finish of a cutting board. While you may find some higher end Lazy Susan's that are made out of glass, they can be made of plastic.

An anonymous contributor to the Good Housekeeping magazine originated the term “Lazy Susan” in 1906. They were interestingly, introduced within the 18th century. Before the magazine article, the helper tables were identified as dumbwaiters. Dumbwaiters on the other hand eventually became small elevators between the kitchen and the other floors, helpful to transport food throughout a rather large home and not round trays on a table. While Lazy Susan's are not as popular in the 2000s, they are in constant use in Chinese restaurants, where glass is the most common aspect for the table base. A range of foods can be rotated around the table allowing patrons to share in the meal. Some models of the Lazy Susan include a motor which enables steady rotating.

Less expensive Lazy Susan's rotate on a central spindle, but this does not allow for a very large table or a significant amount of weight. Attached to a circle of ball bearings will be the more beneficial Lazy Susan. This permits the use of a large, heavy table containing a full load of items.

Some kitchens use a form of Lazy Susan to efficiently access food components in a quick and effective manner. Stacked vertically, one arrangement consists of a full cabinet with a set of Lazy Susan's arranged as shelves that rotate completely around in a 360 degree manner. With a 90 degree angle cut out to be able to allow for two doors or one, this cabinet is handy in lots of kitchens. Computer bases, television or spice shelves are some other forms of Lazy Susan's that are utilized inside quite a few homes. Lazy Susan's may also refer to rotating platforms used for construction and assembly, including sculpture, electronics repair, and manufacturing. This allows for effective moving of the item or product without actually touching or disturbing the merchandise directly. Known as turn-tables, these are rotating tables that are motor-driven.

Lazy Susan's are not only a more efficient strategy for assembly, they also aid in preventing work related injuries. WRMDs or Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorder are caused by repetitive assembly motions in manufacturing assembly lines. These can be avoided by making use of Lazy Susan's during assembly. The military also uses the word Lazy Susan to make reference to the turn-tables that allow weapon rotation. A classic example of this would be where in Star Wars, Hans Solo is mounted on a rotating platform to blast away at enemy spaceships.

In the motion picture Herbie Goes Bananas, the use of a turntable is one other example, where during the bull fighting sequence the star of the show was rotated around a full 360 degrees. Some rather popular games have resorted to using some type of rotating platform like scrabble, where each player can move the game to a better angle while not disturbing the laid out tiles. A massive turntable is used in some rail yards to place trains on tracks.

Modern homeowners can test out classic Lazy Susan's to find the utility of having an appealing and useful method for making condiments available to each of their dining guests.