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Broom
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Broom
A broom (bruːm), also known as a broomstick, is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan.
A distinction is made between a "hard broom" and a "soft broom" and a spectrum in between. Soft brooms are used in some cultures chiefly for sweeping walls of cobwebs and spiders, like a "feather duster", while hard brooms are for rougher tasks like sweeping dirt off sidewalks or concrete floors, or even smoothing and texturing wet concrete. The majority of brooms are somewhere in between, suitable for sweeping the floors of homes and businesses, soft enough to be flexible and to move even light dust, but stiff enough to achieve a firm sweeping action.[citation needed]
The broom is also a symbolic object associated with witchcraft and ceremonial magic.
The word broom derives from types of shrubs referred to as brooms. Common broom typically refers to whatever shrub is most commonly used to make the bristles for a broomstick in a given region. The name of the shrubs began to be used for the household implement in Late Middle English and gradually replaced the earlier besom during the Early Modern English period. The song Buy Broom Buzzems (by William Purvis 1752–1832) still refers to the "broom besom" as one type of besom (i.e. "a besom made from broom").
Flat brooms, made of broom corn, were invented by Shakers in the 19th century with the invention of the broom vice. A smaller whisk broom or brush is sometimes called a duster.
Brooms are used to clean dust and ash. They may be used to clean homes, appliances such as ovens and fireplaces, or outdoor areas such as streets and yards.
The earliest brooms and brushes are from prehistory, when things such as bird wings and burs were fastened to handles of bone, ivory, or wood. The indigenous peoples of the Southwestern United States created brooms from yucca plants for cleaning pueblos. The indigenous people of Saint Lucia created brooms from coconut fronds for cleaning around hearths. Brooms are mentioned in the 1540 manuscript Codex Mendoza of the Aztecs, which instructs girls to sweep.
The birch besom was made by fastening twigs to a handle with a strip of ash wood, harvested from a log after washing it in a running stream. The besom became a symbol of breweries in England, where brewers used it as a whisk while fermenting alcoholic beverages, and the brooms were typically displayed by pubs. When not in use, a brewer's besom was stored and dried on wall pegs or hanging by a leather cord. The broom was not washed so that yeast would remain in the bristles for future uses. Hearth besoms were created in Ireland to keep ash on a hearth. Until the 18th century, brooms were crafted by hand.
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Broom
A broom (bruːm), also known as a broomstick, is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan.
A distinction is made between a "hard broom" and a "soft broom" and a spectrum in between. Soft brooms are used in some cultures chiefly for sweeping walls of cobwebs and spiders, like a "feather duster", while hard brooms are for rougher tasks like sweeping dirt off sidewalks or concrete floors, or even smoothing and texturing wet concrete. The majority of brooms are somewhere in between, suitable for sweeping the floors of homes and businesses, soft enough to be flexible and to move even light dust, but stiff enough to achieve a firm sweeping action.[citation needed]
The broom is also a symbolic object associated with witchcraft and ceremonial magic.
The word broom derives from types of shrubs referred to as brooms. Common broom typically refers to whatever shrub is most commonly used to make the bristles for a broomstick in a given region. The name of the shrubs began to be used for the household implement in Late Middle English and gradually replaced the earlier besom during the Early Modern English period. The song Buy Broom Buzzems (by William Purvis 1752–1832) still refers to the "broom besom" as one type of besom (i.e. "a besom made from broom").
Flat brooms, made of broom corn, were invented by Shakers in the 19th century with the invention of the broom vice. A smaller whisk broom or brush is sometimes called a duster.
Brooms are used to clean dust and ash. They may be used to clean homes, appliances such as ovens and fireplaces, or outdoor areas such as streets and yards.
The earliest brooms and brushes are from prehistory, when things such as bird wings and burs were fastened to handles of bone, ivory, or wood. The indigenous peoples of the Southwestern United States created brooms from yucca plants for cleaning pueblos. The indigenous people of Saint Lucia created brooms from coconut fronds for cleaning around hearths. Brooms are mentioned in the 1540 manuscript Codex Mendoza of the Aztecs, which instructs girls to sweep.
The birch besom was made by fastening twigs to a handle with a strip of ash wood, harvested from a log after washing it in a running stream. The besom became a symbol of breweries in England, where brewers used it as a whisk while fermenting alcoholic beverages, and the brooms were typically displayed by pubs. When not in use, a brewer's besom was stored and dried on wall pegs or hanging by a leather cord. The broom was not washed so that yeast would remain in the bristles for future uses. Hearth besoms were created in Ireland to keep ash on a hearth. Until the 18th century, brooms were crafted by hand.
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