When we hear the word “inventor” (or even just “scientist”), as a rule, an image of a serious man immediately appears in our head, looking thoughtfully and inquisitively at the contents of the test tube (or a microscope, or a prototype of something complicated and high-tech).
When we are asked to name women scientists, we, at best, recall Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Sofia Kovalevskaya and, perhaps, the first programmer, Ada Lovelace (Byron).
Meanwhile, for so many things that we use in everyday life (and not only), we need to thank women. It's just that in our “masculine” world, recognition in science for a woman is a very difficult task (and literally a hundred years ago it is almost impossible). So let's see what women actually invented.
10. Paper bag
In the light of the current uncompromising struggle for the environment and the massive rejection of plastic packaging, the well-known paper bag is of particular importance to us all.
And it was invented (back in the 1860s) by an employee of the paper mill Margaret Knight. Not only that, she also designed a machine that automatically stamped these same paper bags with a flat bottom.
But when the girl tried to patent her invention, she was informed that such a patent was registered several days ago. It turned out that a certain Charles Annan, watching Margaret test his car, simply stole her idea.
Knight, of course, went to court. And Annan’s lawyer, as the main argument in his defense, tried to use the most “lethal” thesis: women, in principle, are not able to come up with complex machines. Then Margaret provided the court with all her drawings and calculations. Annan's patent was revoked.
And actually it was not Margaret Knight’s only invention: during her life she received 87 (!) Patents, including for a numbering machine, a rotary engine, etc.
9. Trash bin with pedal
Spouses Frank and Lilian Gilbret dealt with the issues of scientific organization of labor (for example, they were one of the first who proposed using psychological methods of motivation to improve workers' productivity).
And when Frank suddenly died, and Lilian was left alone with 12 (!) Children, she took everything into her own hands, taking on her shoulders not only the household, but also the continuation of joint research with her late husband.
Lilian paid special attention to improving the working conditions of people with disabilities (disabled people), as well as organizing the work of a housewife.
In the process, Gilbreth invented many small things that significantly improved our everyday life: for example, a trash can that doesn’t open with your hand, but with your foot - by pressing the pedal, the shelves in the refrigerator door, a kitchen table on wheels, an electric mixer for whipping, etc. Her patents willingly bought up a lot of money.
8. The game "Monopoly"
Most of us have ever played this entertaining board game, where everyone is trying to become a monopolist and “bankrupt” all rivals. So - a woman also invented it.
At the beginning of the XX century. American Elizabeth Maggie (future developer of many popular board games) was very inspired by the ideas of the antimonopoly Henry George that the monopoly of large landowners gives the economy the most negative effect, and that a single land tax is vital for everyone.
And she came up with a game explaining this theory in a playful way. True, the game was originally called "Landowner" (or, in another translation, "Landlord").
Elizabeth succeeded in patenting it in 1904 with great difficulty (due to gender inequality prevailing in society), and she received only $ 500 for it.
And in 1933, the bankrupt heating systems salesman Charles Darrow sold the first several thousand sets of Monopoly, having slightly modified and modified the game of Lizzy Maggie, he patented it under the name now familiar to us.
7. Apgar scale
American Virginia Apgar was one of the best experts in the field of pediatric anesthesiology at one time. Until the middle of the 20th century. obstetricians focused on the condition not of the newborn, but of the mother who had just given birth.
Apgar was one of the first to say that in the first hours of life, infections, high humidity in the room, etc. are especially dangerous for newborns. Offering in 1952 to use a special assessment test for newborns, which consisted of only 5 important points, Virginia Apgar literally made a revolution in obstetrics - since that time, newborn mortality has fallen significantly.
According to the Apgar test, in the first 5 minutes of the baby’s life, the state of his breathing and heartbeat, as well as his posture, reaction and skin color are assessed (from 0 to 2 points) - all this is crucial for midwives to have time to provide timely assistance to the newborn and prevent complications.
6. Flares
Martha Coston, the wife of an inventor who served in the U.S. Navy, was widowed at age 21, with four little sons left. Benjamin Coston was just trying to create a device for delivering light signals to the sea (after all, until that time, people in distress in shipwrecks simply shouted loudly or waved colored flags).
The toxic substances that Benjamin Coston used in his experiments undermined his health. Martha studied all her husband's notes and decided to finish his business. She spent 10 years translating ideas into reality.
Finally, in 1859, a woman tested the first signal rocket and received a patent for it. The U.S. Navy considered Coston's invention to be very important and bought a patent from her for 20 thousand dollars. Marta later founded Coston, a company that produced long-burning flares with red, green, and white flames. Her invention, in the end, helped save tens of thousands of lives.
5. Dishwasher
According to the most common version, Josephine Cochrane (the wife of a young and successful American businessman) firmly decided to invent a mechanical dishwashing machine without human intervention after the housekeeper broke several expensive crystal plates when they washed them. Josephine began to think seriously about this idea.
Soon her beloved husband, William Cochrane, fell ill and died, leaving a lot of debt. And it became vital for Josephine to complete her invention and sell it profitably.
She carefully thought out the functionality and design of the dishwasher, and the mechanics George Butters helped her to solve particularly difficult technical moments.
And in 1886, Josephine Cochrane received the coveted patent. She sincerely believed that young housewives would start buying her car first. But first, the invention began to be acquired in large quantities by cafes, restaurants and hotels. And the dishwasher came into everyday life in the United States many years after the death of its creator - in the 1950s.
4. Car wipers
In 1902, Mary Anderson, a rancher and vineyard owner in Alabama, came on business to New York. And the main mode of public transport in New York at that time was a tram.
Mary drew attention to the fact that tram drivers are forced to manually shake off the snow from the windshield, leaning out the window. This, of course, distracted them and created the risk of accidents. And, returning home, she decided to come up with a special mechanical device for cleaning glass.
In 1903, Mary Anderson received a patent for a wiper, which was a thin wooden block with a rubber strip attached to one side of it. This bar was driven by a lever on the spring. But the tram manufacturers refused to buy the invention, saying that cleaning the window with your hand is not so difficult.
Mary Anderson, in the end, did not receive a cent for her wiper. But it was very much appreciated (alas, much later) by car designers. Since 1922, the Cadillac company was the first to install almost modern “wipers” on each of its vehicles.
3. Kevlar
The amazing Kevlar material, which is 5 times lighter than steel and 5 times stronger than it (which later saved many lives and helped bring some modern technologies to a new level), was also created by a woman.
He was invented by Stephanie Kwolek - an American chemist of Polish descent. When she tried to synthesize fiber with which to reinforce the tires of automobiles, Kvolek received a very successful model - unlike nylon, it was not brittle.
Today, this substance (patented in 1971) is very widely used not only in the manufacture of equipment and protective clothing for rescue and security services, but also in the aviation and even space industries.
2. Circular Saw
Sarah “Tabitha” Babbitt was a member of the Shaker Sect (that is, believers in the Second Coming of Christ) in Massachusetts. She had to watch more than once how men saw logs with a long two-handed saw and how much effort and time they have to spend on it (especially when cutting longitudinally).
And she undertook to simplify this process. Babbitt decided that a circular and continuously rotating blade would be much more efficient. The circular saw she invented, working on the principle of a spinning wheel (the foot pedal set it in motion), and a little later - rotating with the help of a water wheel, greatly facilitated the efforts of sawmills and changed the woodworking technology for the better.
Sarah Babbitt did not patent her invention in accordance with her religious principles. But only 3 years later (in 1816), two wise Frenchmen did it, having discovered a circular description in one of the newspapers.
1. The use of solar energy for heating homes
And finally, the woman came up with the idea of accumulating and using solar energy for heating (and also for cooling) houses. In 1948, a researcher from the University of Massachusetts Technological University, Maria Telkes (actually Telkesh, she was an emigrant from Hungary), together with the architect Eleanor Raymond, created the so-called “Solar House” in the town of Dover.
The house had a transparent roof, along the perimeter of which there were containers with glauber salt, which accumulated solar heat in itself during the day, and then gave it away, heating the house in cool weather.
Continuing experiments with solar energy, Telkes also created a thermoelectric refrigerator, a miniature desalination plant (which could be used on lifeboats) and several systems for storing solar heat, for which she received the nickname “Queen of the Sun” from her colleagues.