China. The most mopped country in the world.

Mops, mops, mops. Today you discover me investigatively reporting on China's long-established mop making industry that dates back to the Ming dynasty. A little known fact is that Ming vases aren't actually vases at all, they are early pottery mop buckets (we know this because an ancient Ming bucket unearthed in a recent archeological dig contained remains of a liquid which turned out to be coffee, which the ancient Chinese used as bleach - ironic when you consider that they are now using bleach as coffee).
The Chinese peoples take mopping very seriously and the mop industry is the 3rd largest industry in China, behind bicycle maintenance and security-guard uniform manufacture. China is at the forefront of mopping technology and most of the mopping innovations that we currently enjoy in the West, made their debut right here in Shanghai, the centre of mop innovation. Indeed, Shanghai is known throughout China as Mop Valley - Home of the Mop.
So much a part of the Chinese way of life is the mop, that proud owners of impressive models will display their mops outside their houses. I present to you here just a small selection of the best examples I saw during just one 14 minute stroll to work.

The Hazeldene S1000

Known as the Lazy Hazy, this beauty hit the bucket in 2009. She's  aluminium-shafted like her predecessor, the S100, but that's where the similarities end. Look at the business end (or "head"). Those cloth "flaps" are a breakthrough in absorbtion technology. She'll suck up 3 times the amount of liquid than the S100, making short work of your mop-based chores. It's from this astonishing absorbtion ratio that she gets the nick name "Lazy Hazy" because you're hitting the sofa 3 times faster then if you'd used her predecessor. This fine example is finished in an eye-catching yellow and has been displayed "head up" next to a road crossing for all to admire
In the background you can see a purple shiny helmet which I wouldn't be surprised to discover has been burnished to a high sheen by this very mop.

 A Simpson 14 (M Series) and a Fitzwilliam.

I know. I couldn't believe my eyes. It's a treat to see a working Fitzwilliam but to spot one head to head with a Simpson 14 is something that any mop spotter (or mopotter) would give their mopping arm to see. No wonder the proud owner had these on display. Balance issues discovered when test-piloting the Fitzwilliam (or Fitzy as she is known throughout the world) were swiftly solved when engineers incorporated a vulcanized rubber flange at the base of the shaft and the rest is history. The Fitzy became THE classic mop. The perfect combination of form and function she is the go-to mop for novices and experts alike. And to see her next to the futuristic M series "Simpo" 14, the mop she inspired, is a real treat. We all know the teething troubles with the L series (or the "Bloody L" as it became known), so it's no surprise to see that this one is an "M." No more words. Just absorb (pardon the pun) the view.

The Xiajiangchangshu Kenlu

You won't see many of these babies outside China. She's the Communist Party's People's Mop. She's a high flap-count, no frills, back-to-basics mop. Yes she's got a good action and yes she's got absorbant flaps. I put my hands up. She's good. But where's the balance? Even the similarly wooden shafted (and cheaper!) Beaujolais L/1200 had a more pleasing centre of gravity for goodness' sake. And the L/1200 came out of the aptly named but  notoriously badly managed (and now unsurprisingly defunct) Shanghai Mop Factory. I suspect this example is being displayed using the trendy "Window Ledge" mount, more to impress the local Party members than anyone else. I know, I know, I'm being very disparaging about a mop not designed to be aesthetically pleasing and it does incorporate  innovative shaft loop technology (from which it hangs) but, to me anyway, she promises more than she delivers. Mopwise.

The Dirt-be-gone.
 Ha ha ha ha. I couldn't resist putting up this picture. It will be no surprise to see this ill-fated mop sitting in a tree beneath a block of flats. Undoubtedly hurled over the balcony by a furious would be mopper. As you'll remember her appearance astounded the mop community when she appeared last year. Had she lived up to her designer's bold aspirations, no doubt she could have taken the coveted title of "World's Best Mop" from The Fitzy. But as we all know, far from absorbing dirty water, the ludicrously complicated head arrangement merely spread it about a bit.
 So there we have it. There are precisely 9 more pictures of mops that I took on this one 14 minute journey. Many of them design classics but I'll save them for another post.  In the meantime, please enjoy this last picture. That's right lady or gentleman, I present to you......the dazzling, the beautiful, the exotic, the one and only.... Flamenco 3300ZZ.