If you are reading this on your laptop or cell phone, you have a woman to thank for your wi-fi. Caught in the rain while driving? You have a woman to thank for your windshield wipers. There are countless items we use daily that make our lives easier and more enjoyable that many may not know were invented by women.
Hedy Lamarr (Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler)
Hedy, along with her friend George Antheil (a talented pianist/composer) developed a system of frequency hopping technology to help guide torpedoes and prevent enemies from jamming the radio guidance. This technology is the basis for our modern Wi-Fi. Despite having a patent for this technology, The Navy declined Hedy Lamarr’s input and insisted she stick to acting and sell war bonds (which she sold a staggering $25 million dollars in war bonds which would be $343 million dollars today).
Materials in our collection about Hedy Lamarr (click photo to be directed to our catalog)
Mary Anderson
On a snowy/rainy day, we have Mary Anderson to thank for our life saving windshield wipers! Early cars had no windshield wipers and people sometimes would rub onion, carrot or tobacco to prevent water from collecting (which did not work!) These first windshield wipers had to be manually pulled by the driver. We have Charlotte Brigwood to thank for the first automatic windshield wiper. Her daughter, Florence Lawrence (considered the first movie star) , helped design the first turn signal and brake light.
Materials in our collection
Bette Nesmith Graham
Bette was a hardworking secretary and a single mother. When typing, if one made a mistake they had to redo the whole document. Bette one day made her own corrector using water based paint so she could quickly correct her mistakes without anyone noticing. Her fellow secretaries discovered her secret and wanted to buy their own corrector (which would be known as Liquid Paper). She ended up selling her product to Gillette in 1980 for $47.5 million. Bonus Fact: recognize her son? He is none other than Michael Nesmith from The Monkees!
Patsy O. Sherman
Patsy grew up wanting to be a scientist. In school, girls and boys were given separate aptitude tests. When completing her test, the result was that she should be a housewife. She demanded to take the “boys” test and her result was a dentist or scientist. She was able to reach her dream of becoming a chemist. She was assigned to develop a rubber that could be used for jet fuel hoses. Some of the liquid spilled on an assistant’s shoe and would not come off with water. This lead to her invention, Scotchgard!
Two Quotes from Patsy can be said of all these inventors and those still to come.
| “Girls should follow their dreams. They can do anything anybody else can do. They have many more role models today — not the least of whom might be their mothers.” |
| “You can encourage and teach young people to observe, to ask questions when unexpected things happen. You can teach yourself not to ignore the unanticipated. Just think of all the great inventions that have come through serendipity, such as Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, and just noticing something no one conceived of before.” |
Additional materials in our collection:
