These Dog-Powered Machines Were Surprisingly Common in the 19th Century

Butter ‘em Up

Advertisement from the 1850s showing a butter churn machine powered by a dog Image: Internet Archive

This ad for a dog-powered butter churn device comes from the 1850s and is featured in the book Working Like a Dog: The Story of Working Dogs Through History (2003) by Gena Gorrell. Again, churning butter could be an exhausting task for humans, and the middle of the 19th century tried to solve that problem by using dogs.

Previous Next

The Case for Tracking Everything

If every step taken, hour slept, and heartbeat can be measured, recorded, and analyzed, are we taking control of our health or losing the plot entirely?

Gadgets Claire Maldarelli Apr 15

Britain Greece Diplomacy History Archaeology

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

Can anyone "own" the past?

Human History Gayoung Lee Apr 4

An item depicting the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is seen on March 20, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

This Columnist Predicted in 2006 That the Iran War Would End by 2026 (Seriously)

She also predicted Dick Cheney would become president and most drugs would be legal in 2026.

Politics Matt Novak Mar 21

Cropped Oryoku Maru Aerial Photo Former Us Naval Station Olongapo On 15 December 1944

Pentagon Begins Search for Remains of WWII POWs Lost on Japanese ‘Hell Ship’

A team of 15 specialist divers dove into waters off the coast of the Philippines last month—initiating a forensic recovery operation that one Pentagon scientist said could take "months or years."

Human History Matthew Phelan Mar 13