THINGS WOMEN INVENTED ... Part 1

#1 Josephine Cochrane: The Dishwasher 

Out of frustration, Josephine Cochrane invented the dishwasher. She'd been angry that hired domestic help continually broke and chipped her fine china. Cochrane's dishwasher used high water pressure aimed at a wire rack of dishes, she received a patent for it in 1886.

During this era, most houses didn't have the technology of a hot water system to run such a machine, but Cochrane persisted and sold her idea to hotels and restaurants. Eventually dishwashers moved into households as more and more women entered the workplace. 

#2 Mary Phelps Jacob: The Modern Brassiere 

Jacobs was awarded a US patent in 1914 for a Brassiere that supported the breasts up from the shoulders and separated them into two individual shapes. People had experimented with making Brassieres before, but it was the idea of "separating the breasts," that made her design unique.

Prior to Brassieres (or bras) women’s undergarments were uncomfortable. Containing whalebones and steel rods, they virtually squeezed the wearer into "shape". Jacobs' design was in contrast, soft and light, conforming to the wearer’s anatomy.

During WWI her bra design became popular when the U.S. government requested that women stop purchasing corsets in order to conserve metal. Although by this time Jacobs had sold the patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company. 

#3 Grace Hopper: BM-Harvard Mark 1 

Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper is known as the "mother of computers"! After WWII, Hopper was stationed at Harvard, where she worked on the development of the IBM-Harvard Mark 1, the first large-scale computer in the U.S.

Dr. Hopper also invented the compiler, which translates written language into computer code. She coined the term "bug" for a computer problem, and co-developed COBOL, the first user-friendly business computer software program.

As a woman inventor, she won numerous awards, including the National Medal of Technology in 1991. By the time she passed away, Dr. Hopper had received honorary degrees from 30 universities. 

#4 Mary Anderson: The Windshield Wiper 

Can you imagine, in the early 1900s if it was raining or snowing, drivers had to stop every few blocks to wipe their windshields?! Mary Anderson solved that. Although cars were rare at the time, Anderson took a notice to the situation and by 1903 she invented the wipers. It was the ingenious squeegee on a spindle attached to a handle inside the car. All the driver had to do to clear the windshield was pull down on a handle.

People were initially leery of Anderson's windshield wiper, thinking it would distract drivers, but 10 years after she patented the device, virtually every car used her invention. Also did you know, it was a woman inventor who first patented the automatic windshield wiper in 1917? It was Charlotte Bridgwood and her, "Storm Windshield Cleaner".

#5 Hedy Lamarr: Secret Communications System 

The patented "Secret Communications Systems" in 1941, manipulated radio frequencies with an unbreakable code to prevent classified messages from being intercepted by enemy.

Lamarr was raised in Austria and married a millionaire, who was a Nazi sympathizer and arms dealer to Hitler during WWII. While married, she learned about advanced weaponry as she accompanied her husband to business meetings.

She grew to despise the Nazis as well as her husband and eventually escaped to London and then to the U.S. The device she invented with Anthiel was meant to be used against the Nazis in WWII, but in actuality it came into use 20 years later.