There are so many things in the world that we owe our thanks to women for.
From practical inventions to scientic discoveries, today in “10 things”, we’re celebrating some of many things invented by women that you may not have known about. We salute the great women of the world for coming up with these ideas!
1. Kevlar
Yes, the material that’s now used in bulletproof vests and body armor was invented by American chemist Stephanie Louise Kwolek!
In the 1960’s, Kwolek was working for chemical company DuPont, and in anticipation of a gas shortage her team began researching for a fiber that could be used in tires that was strong but lightweight.
From her research, she went on to develop Kevlar which is five times stronger than steel and does not rust or corrode. In 1995, the innovative chemist was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
2. The Flat-bottomed Shopping Bag
American inventor Margaret Knight didn’t invent the bag itself but made it into a more practical product that was able to carry more items. Originally the bag was shaped more like an envelope and was mostly impractical to the user, and so in the 1870s Knight created a machine that cut, folded and glued special square bottoms to paper bags.
Her idea was stolen by a man called Charles Annan and Knight filed a patent interference suit against him, which she won. Knight was awarded more than 20 patents in her lifetime.
3. The Compiler and COBOL Computer Language
Admiral Grace Hopper is widely regarded as a pioneer in the computer field. Hopper joined the military in 1943 where she worked on IBM’s Harvard’s Mark I computer at the university – the first large-scale computer in America. She was one of the first programmers for the computer and also developed the first compiler for a computer programming language.
A study room at Chalmers University of Technology and the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Hopper (DDG-70) is named in her honour.
4. Windscreen Wipers
Mary Anderson came up with the windscreen wipers we see on vehicles today. While on a trip to New York in 1903, Anderson noticed that people drove with the front window open because it was difficult to keep the windshield clear. When she headed home to Alabama, she researched and hired a designer to create a hand-operated device to clear the screen.
She was awarded a 17-year patent for her invention and when it expired, car manufacturers used Anderson’s basic design as standard equipment in automobiles.
5. Fire-retardant fabric
Born in Venice, Italian inventor and chemist Dr. Giuliana Tesoro was quite a prolific organic chemist and held more than 125 patents in the US. Tesoro contributed to the textile and fiber industry and is arguably best-known for her invention, the flame-retardant fiber.
The new fiber was designed as a way to prevent static accumulation in synthetic fibers. She also made advances in organic compounds.
6. Maritime Signal Flares
Martha Coston developed the pyrotechnic flare following her husband’s death. Her husband, a naval scientist, left behind only sketches of flares and so Martha began to look into the idea.
They become known as Night Signals and were used to allow ships to communicate to each other in the dark. She patented his idea and eventually the US Navy bought the rights to the invention. Though Coston credited her deceased husband with the first patent, she was awarded a patent on an improvement to the flares.
7. Vacuum Packing
She didn’t invent storage itself but American, Amanda Jones, was the first to develop the vacuum canning system that we know so well! In the 1870s she created the process for persevering food in collaboration with Professor Leroy C. Cooley.
She obtained five patents, with two listing her as sole inventor. Her canning system changed the food industry.
8. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ruth Wakefield came up with the idea for delicious chocolate chip cookies that we love so much today. Born in 1903, Wakefield was the inventor of the Toll House Cookie, which is the first chocolate chip cookie.
In 1930, she was baking a batch of cookies when she noticed that she was out of chocolate – she broke pieces of Nestlé chocolate into the mix, thinking it would melt but it didn’t and she invented the chocolate chip by mistake.
Soon after, she got in contact with Nestlé and came up with a plan; The food company would print her recipe on the cover of their bars, and in turn Wakefield would get a lifetime supply of chocolate – not a bad deal at all!
9. “Monopoly”
Game designer Elizabeth “Lizzie” J. Phillips née Magie, came up with a game called The Landlord’s Game which is the precursor to the much loved Monopoly. She created The Landlord’s Game in Maryland and popularized it there where she also sought her first patent.
In the early 1900s, she applied for a US patent on her board game which aimed to demonstrate the economic effects of land monopolism and the use of value tax.
She patented a revised version of the game in 1924 but by that stage people were making their own copies. The Monopoly we know today is an American-originated board game, that was originally published by Parker Brothers.
10. The Fire Escape
Patented by Anna Connelly in 1887, the first outdoor fire escape developed by the inventor, featured an external staircase. Anna’s model became part of many mandatory building safety codes across the US.
The exterior staircases not only added an extra sense of safety to a building but were also cheap to construct and could be added to the existing walls very easily.
