Jacuzzi

It is hard to imagine a decent bathroom without a jacuzzi. Within only four decades, it has become a universal symbol of luxury and high social position. Although the bathtub with bubbles was not unknown for the ancient Romans, it resurfaced in the modern world as the invention of American Roy Jacuzzi.

Believe it or not, the construction of the jacuzzi took its inspiration from airplane's propellers. However inconceivable it may sound, the Jacuzzi brothers, who emigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s, began their American dream as an aircraft company. It wasn't until 1968 that Roy Jacuzzi – the third generation family member – constructed the first integrated whirlpool bath. He called his creation the “Roman,” in memory of the original inventors. But “jacuzzi” sounded much better and soon replaced the ancient name.

What is so special about Roy's bathtub? “The key to the Roman was the incorporation of innovative therapy jets into the sides of the bath tub,” writes the company's website. “His patented jets produced a 50/50 air to water ratio providing an experience like none before. The same air to water ratio we use today to provide a spa experience you won't find anywhere else.” The assembly plant in California produces around 300 Jacuzzis every day, which are later sold all over the world.

Jacuzzi is now a trademark, which the Associated Press Stylebook advises to substitute with whirlpool bath or whirlpool spa. But in many instances the eponym serves as the symbol of wealth rather than a mere bathtub with bubbles. A journalist of the New York Times found herself out of breath in one of Las Vegas hotels, when she was confronted with “a raised Jacuzzi, surrounded by a gold-tipped iron balcony in the living room (...) embedded in a marble platform that, presumably like the faces of its happy occupants, lights up at night.”

Everything changes, so do people's habits. With decreasing water resources and, in consequence, rising bills, the jacuzzi seems like a luxury that only the elite can now afford. But for clever Roy Jacuzzi no obstacle is too formidable. “We recognize there are a lot of people who simply prefer showers,” he told the New York Times in 1991, presenting his latest invention – J-Dream. For mere $9,600, J-Dream offers “16 multilevel hydrotherapy jets, as well as three adjustable shower heads, a cascading waterfall and a steambath with a built-in seat.”

Americans fell in love with their Jacuzzis. The nation has traveled a long way since its formation when Pennsylvania and some other states considered banning tubbing as very unhealthy. The White House earned its first bathtub only in 1851.