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January 13, 2003
A: FROM MENTEES ALEXIS K. IN VA, AMY N. IN MN, ANDREA G. IN
WA, ANGELICA L. IN WA, ANNE M. IN CA, ASHLEY S. IN TN, BRANDY
S. IN MO, CHI H., ERIKA G. IN CA, ERIN R. IN KY, IVY H. IN
WA, JENNY N. IN AR, JESSICA D. IN VT, KATHRYN T. IN VA, KELLY
B. IN PA, KELLY V. IN NJ, KERALA H. IN CA, KHANDIS C. IN TX,
KIMMIKKA C. IN MO, LISA R. IN PA, MAGGIE K. IN CT, MIA M.
IN CA, RACHELLE C. IN PA, REBECCA Z. IN CA, RUTH O. IN NH,
SARAH D. IN IL, TIERRA P. IN MO, TRINAYIA A. IN MO
Candido Jacuzzi was born in northern Italy in 1903 and emigrated
with his
family, fifteen strong, to the United States early in the
century. The
family settled in Berkeley, California, becoming machinists.
Candido, the
youngest of seven brothers, would never complete grammar school.
The first Jacuzzi Brothers, Inc. product was an airplane propeller
known as
the Jacuzzi 'toothpick.' America's first military planes sported
the
specialized propeller in World War I. When World War I came
to a close the
brothers designed the Jacuzzi J-7, a cabin-style monoplane
that was adapted
to the delivery of domestic mail. The machinists followed
with a
breakthrough development of submersible pumps that opened
markets worldwide
to Jacuzzi. Factories sprouted in Canada, Mexico, Brazil,
Chile and Italy.
More than 200 industrial patents are today held by the Jacuzzis.
In 1943 Candido's 15-month old son contracted rheumatoid arthritis,
leaving
the boy crippled and distorted with pain. The boy received
regular
hydrotherapy treatments at local hospitals but Candido could
not stand to
see his son suffering between the therapeutic visits. He realized
that the
water pumps Jacuzzi Brothers was making for industrial use
could be adapted
to give his son soothing whirlpool treatments in the tub at
home.
In 1948 Jacuzzi designed an aerating pump that could be used
in a bathtub.
The unit sat right in the water and was portable, able to
be moved from one
bathtub to another. Over the years, word of these water jets
reached
sufferers who sought the same home relief provided by the
portable whirlpool
and Jacuzzi manufactured some for special orders.
In 1955 the firm decided to market the Jacuzzi whirlpool bath
as a
therapeutic aid, selling it in drugstores and bath supply
shops. To generate
a little publicity for the unknown product portable Jacuzzis
were included
in the gifts showered on contestants on TV's Queen for a Day.
It was pitched
as relief for the worn-down housewife but when Hollywood stars
like Randolph
Scott and Jayne Mansfield, who were decidedly not worn-down,
began offering
testimonials the Jacuzzi started to acquire its legendary
allure.
In 1968 Jacuzzi invented and brought to market the first self-contained,
fully integrated whirlpool bath by incorporating jets into
the sides of the
tub. A new industry and era of whirlpool bathing pleasure
was born. The
Jacuzzi became a symbol of the sybaritic lifestyle. Hundreds
of thousands of
Jacuzzi portables were installed, both indoors and outdoors,
at recreation
centers and private homes. No self-respecting hotel suite
could be rented
without a Jacuzzi and in many places a Jacuzzi is standard
in new homes
.
But the whirlpool bath was still mostly a sidelight at Jacuzzi
Brothers. By
far the bulk of Jacuzzi revenues came from sales of water
pumps, marine jets
and swimming pool equipment.
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