Nowadays we use so many products that were once invented by someone. Products often go through different phases to get to where they are now. Many things have been invented by men, but did you know that women have also invented quite a few useful things? Not only in the household, but in all kinds of areas.
15x products invented by women
Aquariums
Jeanne Villepreux-Power invented the first version of aquariums in 1832. Born as a shoemaker’s daughter, this Frenchwoman moved to Paris at the age of eighteen to work there. She designed a wedding dress for Princess Caroline, which brought her some fame and even a wealthy husband. Jeanne moved to Sicily with her English husband and discovered her passion for marine animals and other fauna. The research was difficult because she only looked at the animals in the water and had difficulty getting them out of the water. As a solution, Jeanne designed a glass aquarium, just as we still know it today.
Barbie
Ruth Marianna Handler launched Barbie in 1959. Ruth came from a large family and was raised by her older sister. She worked in her sister’s drugstore and developed a passion for owning a business there. Elliot Handler, her husband, wanted to start a furniture company. Ruth did sales for the company. Harold Matson joined the company and soon changed the name to Mattel. According to Elliot, there was no way to include Ruth’s name. During World War II, Mattel changed from furniture to toys because furniture was not selling well.
The idea of Barbie came to Ruth thanks to her daughter Barbara. She saw her playing with baby and toddler dolls, while the story was about much more adult things. Ruth realized that there were no dolls on the market that looked like adults.
Central heating
Alice H. Parker received a patent for her central heating design in 1919. As a black woman at that time, there is little information available about her. She is from New Jersey and attended the University of Washington DC This was quite an achievement in itself, but it didn’t stop there. In the past, there was no easy way to keep the house warm everywhere. People spent days chopping wood for the stoves. Alice saw this too and came up with an idea that speeds up the process. She said using natural gases is much faster, more efficient and safer. Although Alice’s design was never really used, it was the basis of modern central heating.
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Coffee filter
Coffee filters have become indispensable if you drink filter coffee. Melitta Bentz received a patent for this handy product in 1908. Before her career as a businesswoman, she was an ordinary housewife. She took care of the house and her three children. Every morning Melitta drank a cup of coffee. The methods they used did not retain all the coffee grounds and often made the coffee too strong. Melitta knew there was a better way, but what kind? No idea. After much trial and error, she came up with the idea of using tissue paper from her son’s school book. This worked better than expected and Melitta immediately shared her findings with her friends. Shortly afterwards she applied for a patent and the Melitta® company was founded. Today you still see Melitta coffee filters on the shelves.
Emergency exit stairs
Anna Connelly invented the emergency exit stairs, which we see on the side of taller buildings, around 1877. Especially in the United States you see these zigzagging along a building. Little is known about Anna’s own life. She lived in Philadelphia all her life. At that time, more and more people from outside, such as from Europe, came to states such as New York and Pennsylvania. Houses came up quickly, so they mainly went up. This increased concerns about the safety and health of citizens.
In 1870, a fire broke out in Anna’s neighborhood. The bakery on the ground floor caught fire. The flames quickly engulfed the apartments above the bakery, with the residents still inside. Soon a law on fire safety was introduced. Anna saw the problem and came up with her own design for the ladders. Her design was fast and efficient. The design we see today still has elements of Anna’s design.
Home security system
Marie Van Brittan Brown was a nurse and therefore had irregular working hours. She often walked the streets alone in the dark. The neighborhood where she lived was not the safest, with a high crime rate. Her husband also had irregular working hours, so she was home alone at night. To feel more secure, she wanted to find a way to see who was at the door without opening the door. In 1966, her husband and she created a system to both see and talk to the person at the door. In addition, she had a remote control to open the door from a distance and she had a button with which she quickly informed the police. The camera at the door was connected to TVs so you could see the person clearly. Several contemporary security systems are based on Marie’s system.
Windshield wipers
Mary Elizabeth Anderson discovered in 1902 that the way drivers kept track was very inefficient. Mary was on the tram during a heavy snowfall. The driver of the tram kept stopping to remove the snow from the windows. This took quite some time and was not a good way. No one thought there might be a better way to clean the windows. Directors just accepted this. Mary came up with the idea of creating a system that you control from within. In the beginning the idea was to do this with an elastic. A year later, Mary received a patent for her idea.
In good spirits, Mary went to a manufacturer to sell her invention. Unfortunately, cars weren’t a big thing at this time, so the company didn’t want the windshield wipers. Some speculate that this is because Mary was an independent woman without a father or husband. It was only a few years later that cars became more popular. Unfortunately, by the time cars got windshield wipers, Mary’s patent had already expired.
Ice maker
Ice cream is a super popular dessert. In 1846, Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson invented a way to make ice cream faster than was possible at the time. Making ice cream during this period took a lot of time and effort. Ice was also difficult to store, because the refrigerator did not yet exist and many households did not have a cool box. Inside the invention were two large plates. These had holes, stood vertically in the machine and rotated. You put ice cubes and salt in the wall of the invention, between the inner and outer walls. This caused the liquid swirling inside to actually have the consistency of ice. This ice cream was good for about 30 minutes, then it started to melt again.
Ironing board
Sarah Boone did not come up with the idea for the ironing board, but she did come up with the design that we still use today. This African-American seamstress already used the ironing board that was used at that time every day. They placed a wooden plank between two chairs. This worked fine for flowy skirts and clothing, but for detailed clothing it was not ideal. The adjustments Sarah made were as follows. She gave the ironing board legs; no more chair was needed to balance the plank. She also gave the ironing board a softer surface. This way the wood had no way of destroying the clothing. She also made the board narrower, so that you could get every piece of your clothing properly ironed.
Waste bin with foot pedal
Lillian Moller Gilbreth designed or contributed to the design of many things. As a woman in the engineering world, they did not make it easy for her. She therefore focused a lot on products that housewives needed. This is how Lillian came up with a better design for the kitchen, which can still be found in homes today. The trash can with a foot pedal also comes from Lillian’s ideas. The idea was to make throwing away junk easier while you’re busy with other things or still have your hands full. It also gives many a better and cleaner feeling. Lillian has been busy in her life and we still see many of her ideas.
Anti-reflective glass
Katharine Blodgett patented her idea for anti-reflective glass in 1938. Katharine was born in New York, but moved a lot due to her father’s early death. She became fascinated by science and studied it. After her university education, she started working as an assistant to Irving Langmuir. In 1932 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He encouraged her to learn more and strike out in her own direction. She was the first woman with a PhD in physics from Cambridge. Katharine discovered that any type of glass reflects light. She developed a soap layer that goes over glass, which ensures that the reflection disappears. Nowadays they use this for glasses, camera lenses, photo frames and much more.
Lifeboat
Maria E. Beasley has fifteen patents to her name. One of them is the lifeboat. She had been interested in mechanics all her life. Maria learned the technique of making barrels from her grandfather. She also applied this technique to her ideas. The boat she came up with was made of light metal. The boat was easy to fold, so that large ships could take as many lifeboats as possible. In a later design, Maria made the boat in such a way that it was possible to use the boat on both sides. If the boat capsizes, you can easily slide the sides to the other side. This way you didn’t have to turn the whole boat around before getting back in.
Disposable diapers
Marion Donovan grew up in a household full of innovations and machines. Her father and uncle were busy inventing things. After her mother survived at an early age, Marion was even more active in the factory. After studying and finding a good job at Vogue, Marion married and had children. This caused her to put an end to her career. Motherhood brought back her interests in innovation. Children wet their diapers all the time, which created a lot of work. After some testing with an old shower curtain, Marion came up with the design of a water-resistant diaper cover in 1946. This made the diaper reusable and caused less rash on the child’s legs and buttocks.
After this invention, Marion didn’t stop. She continued to invent disposable paper diapers that are not necessarily bad. Strangely enough, people weren’t enthusiastic at first. Nearly ten years later, someone was interested in Marion’s idea. This was Victor Mills, the developer of Pampers.
Bulletproof fibers
Stephanie Kwolek accidentally discovered synthetic fibers in 1965 that are so strong that they do not allow even bullets to pass through. When Stephanie was young she already had an interest in substances and chemistry. Her mother was a seamstress and made the most beautiful creations. Stephanie studied chemistry at Margaret Morrison Carnegie College. After her studies she started working as a chemist. Here she started discovering strong fibers that can possibly survive extreme conditions. During her work she discovered that some fibers react differently to certain temperatures. Some joined together, creating a super strong material. This discovery by Stephanie is now used in bulletproof vests.
Dishwasher
Dishwashers have become an indispensable part of our kitchens. We can thank Josephine Cochran for the dishwasher we know today. Her idea was to automate the wooden dishwasher, first invented by Joel Houghton. She used a small motor. The motor ensured that soapy water came over all the items in the dishwasher, even though they were in different places in the machine. In 1886, Josephine received a patent for her version of the dishwasher. The reason for creating this dishwasher was simple. Josephine no longer wanted porcelain plates and cups to break while washing dishes by hand. “If no one else wants to invent this dishwasher, I’ll do it myself!” was her motto when inventing it.
