Nothing is Better than Something (me vs. Dyson)

I go head to head (with spit on my hands) against a Dyson Vacuum to see who can collect more dirt. As designers, we need to be responsible and make choices about to what we're willing to contribute. While I'm not really advocating that we trash the concept of the vacuum, I do think we need to return to an era where we didn't turn to electricity and machines for everything which generally means less exercise for us. I've picked on the Dyson primarily because of its over-design and over-exposure. Considering the self-righteous manner in which James Dyson tries to be an advocate for design, I find his products to be over-calculated and under-performing. Brilliant marketing has made them gobble up market-share in record time but when you cut through the hype and do a little thoughtful research, you'll realize that there are much better products out there with better design, engineering, and value. I can't completely diss what he's done as I certainly admire his business acumen, I'm just personally not buying what he's selling.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• dyson
• vacuum
• how
• to
• product
• design
• engineering
• vs
• fight
• art
• film

[gvanderleun]

Try it when you are 65, kid. Or when you're someone with a real job AND kids AND a whole house to keep up. Or when you are female and charged with these tasks and a dozen others. After that you can return to your little cute screed and fold it four ways...

[markmosk]

@gvanderleun You've done a lot of projecting here. I do have 2 kids and a house to keep up and well, my job is that I'm an artist (and college professor...which last I checked was a fairly legitimate job). I create public art and seating for large cities and have managed to make a living doing what I love. That said, whether you get it or not (everything is subjective), this video is a part of my art which is to highlight and offer criticism about society.

[markmosk]

(Cont.) No, I'm not advocating doing housework like this. It's to make a point about consumption and marketing versus elbow grease. That we don't have to buy every solution, we can work with what we have. I'm sorry you missed that point and took it so literally. Perhaps in your retirement, instead of randomly trolling the internet to offer uninformed criticism, you could be enlightening yourself more thoroughly. Really, randomly hating someone for a fairly innocuous video you find is bizarre.

[tubesaddict]

Cool video, awesome that you took this much time for this experiment. I noticed that your pile looks like it was composed of more hair and the vacuum's looks like it was composed of more dust. Was the Vacuum's pile just more compacted hair because of the swirling? Did your pile have more mass?

[markmosk]

The vacuum provided a more whipped pile. Lighter, less dense. Hard to say if the vac got more dust. It probably had hair caught in the brushes and I had the stickiness advantage of saliva. Close enough results to make you scratch your head for just a moment. While my experiment was more in the interest of art, practically speaking, I think the best all around solution is a carpet sweeper. No electricity, quiet, sanitary, and if done regularly, does a great job.

[HomoKieran]

The video is interesting, only for the fact that you collected more dirt using your hands than the vacuum cleaner. Of course there is no way of knowing for sure that this wasn't 'rigged' just to prove your point.

[markmosk]

It wasn't rigged, I don't have that much invested in this. I had a hypothesis that I might get a similar amt. of dirt and I came close. Sure, the piles had a different constitution and I probably got less dirt. I'm trying to point out the big picture. Think of raking leaves. Blowers are admittedly more efficient, but they also smell, are offensively loud, don't provide much exercise, use fossil fuels, cost alot, bother your neighbors, etc, etc. That's my primary point. Thanks for the comments.

[panaclean775]

Next time use a REAL vacuum..Lol..Not a toy Dyson.Try a Miele s7 or Riccar or Panasonic.In just 15 seconds that rug would have been spotless.While using less energy than the Dyson.

[pizzafriday]

Flawed test. Nobody knows what may or may not have been on either side of that rug, like a couch or end table.

Why not repeat the test and alternate cleaning between your hands and the vacuum on each side to display whether or not the vacuum or your hands can pick up dirt after the other has attempted to clean that section of the carpet.

And, there's no evidence of the dirty/hair that may have been placed on the rug in the first place.

[MediamagicOhio]

Nice.

[claudius2u2]

Silly. Being that the spit provided a great culture enhancement for the dust mites and myriad other pathogenic organisms left behind in the hand-rubbed section, where the Dyson at least removed a fair portion of that virile content. Old-world disease is supported by unsanitary systems that this author apparently overlooks.

[gergnotsloh]

He's not trying to adverstize or sell a vacuum here. This is more a conceptual piece to show how human beings would much rather "swallow a magic pill" by using fancy technology than use their own hands and effort.

We have come to a point where we look down upon using our own naturally given methods as stupid. Listen to the voice at the end of the video.

Funny to see how many people look at this video with a practical approach.

Interesting film. I'd love to see more of your videos.