Heard on the radio just now -- heard it before too -- that there was a big influx into Baltimore of workers from West Virginia and Virginia and Carolina during the war and maybe other times, and Black and Decker used to rent power tools to the shipyard(s?) here. According to someone quoting Mr. Decker, he noticed -- didn't say exactly when
-- that people were taking the tools home and bringing them back, and he asked them why, and was told "I can get so much done with these things at home." And after that, Black and Decker started selling the tools through hardware stores.