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Following the Footsteps of Female Inventors
When thinking about famous inventors, names like Edison, Watt, Bell, Tesla, and Fleming easily come to mind. But what about their female counterparts? While perhaps less celebrated, female inventors have made significant contributions that simplify our daily lives. In honor of International Women’s Day, we’ve compiled a collection of remarkable #girlboss innovations – join us and discover the most significant female developments!
Circular Saw
You might never have guessed, but the idea of the circular saw also originated from a woman. In the early 19th century, Tabitha Babbitt visited a sawmill and concluded that the then-common manual sawing was wasteful, requiring two people and a lot of effort. In 1813, she introduced a simple yet revolutionary solution: a round blade and saw blade powered initially by a spinning wheel and later by a steam engine. This innovation reduced both the effort needed for sawing and the required workforce.
Monopoly
While the official Monopoly page credits Charles Darrow with the game's creation, it’s worth looking deeper into the facts. Elizabeth Magie patented her own board game about 30 years before Darrow, in 1903, which many say closely resembles what we know as Monopoly. Magie’s game, called "The Landlord's Game," was a simple property accumulation game where players could charge each other for borrowing their properties. Sound familiar?
Disposable Diaper
If there's one invention we can easily attribute to a woman, it's the disposable diaper. In 1959, Marion Donovan grew tired of traditional diapers constantly leaking, necessitating frequent changes of both the baby’s clothes and bedding. Donovan aimed to create a diaper that could be easily discarded and didn’t require washing. She sewed the first waterproof diaper from a shower curtain, initially receiving little interest. Undeterred, she founded her own company and marketed the diapers herself. The rights were eventually bought by the Keko Corporation after seeing the sudden surge in popularity. Although Donovan couldn't foresee that reusable diapers would make a comeback about 60 years later, it doesn’t diminish the significance of her invention.
Dishwasher
You might think that Ohio housewife Josephine Cochrane invented the dishwasher simply out of frustration with hand-washing dishes, but given her affluent lifestyle, she likely never washed a dish herself. However, as the hostess of numerous parties, she was annoyed by her staff’s clumsiness (or guests’ inebriation) resulting in broken dishes. Determined to protect her china, Cochrane designed a safe dishwashing machine. Her device, showcased at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, attracted the attention not of ordinary housewives but of restaurant and hotel owners.
Radioactivity and Radium – The Most Successful Female Inventor
Marie Curie’s name would undoubtedly appear on any list of female inventors. The most famous and successful female inventor to date, Curie was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes and the first female professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She received her first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, shared with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel for their discovery of radioactivity. In 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the isolation of pure radium. Her discoveries were particularly significant during World War I, as they enabled the use of portable X-ray machines to diagnose soldiers’ injuries.
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