Uproxx knows that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines are driving the future of this planet forward. Every day, we see new ideas, fresh innovations, and bold trailblazers in these fields. Follow us this month as we highlight how STEM is shaping the culture of NOW.
Women haven’t always gotten proper credit for their inventions and innovations, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t out carving new paths and dreaming up the future. To the contrary, women have been responsible for some of the most important discoveries and inventions in the world. With that idea in mind, we want to celebrate some of the world-changing things that female inventors have created to make the world safer and better.
Wifi
Hedy Lamarr’s wireless communication system was the foundation of Bluetooth, GPS, Cellular Networks, and Wifi.
The Austrian actress was known mostly in her lifetime for being one of the most beautiful people in the world, but she was also one of the most brilliant. Inspired to help with the war effort during World War II, Lamarr wanted to invent a way for torpedoes to be radio-guided (which would make them easier to be controlled and more precise). However, the problem with that idea was that radio signals could be jammed and interfered with. So Lamarr invented spread-spectrum radio, a way for the signals to hop around randomly from frequency to frequency making them difficult to catch and jam.
She and pianist George Antheil patented this idea in 1942, but when she brought it to the Navy, they were uninterested. Her technology was basically put in a drawer for years. That is, until they began looking at developing a way to use sonar to detect submarines and transmit the information in a jam proof way to airplanes. They turned to Lamarr’s research and soon tons of technology was being created around her idea. It wasn’t until the 1990’s when an early pioneer in Wifi found Lamarr’s original patent and began the process to honor her.
It’s said that when an 80 something-year-old Lamarr was called and told she would be getting her first award that her first words were, “Well, it’s about time.”
The Windshield Wiper
Mary Anderson patented windshield wipers in 1903, after she noticed on a trip to New York that drivers had to lean out of their car windows to see every time it rained. So Anderson invented a swinging arm device with a rubber blade that you could operate with a lever. Many people didn’t think the device would catch on. Obviously, those people were quite wrong.
Kevlar
Kwolek was one of the first female research chemists. In the 1970’s she discovered the solution that would lead to the synthetic material that makes up Kevlar. Kevlar is most famous for being the main ingredient in bulletproof vests, but it’s also used in all sorts of other products from helmets to camping equipment to suspension bridge cables.
Disposable Diapers
Donovan was tired of washing dirty cloth diapers and felt that the current solution to leakage, tight rubber pants that were very uncomfortable for babies and caused diaper rash, were insufficient. So she took waterproof curtains, and then later nylon parachute material and created better diaper covers. Then, she sewed a slot inside in which to put absorbent paper. It was the first type of disposable diaper, and she called it the Boater.
Donovan went to all the major manufacturers and was turned down everywhere for the product. The male-led industry told her that they didn’t hear women complaining and the current way of diapering worked just fine. So Donovan, being a bad ass, manufactured the product herself. Soon, it was selling out, and companies were forced to change their minds about the revolutionary product.
The First Computer Program
It was British Inventor, Charles Babbage, who first conceived of an “Analytical Engine” in 1837 — the idea for the first programmable computer. But it was his friend, Ada Lovelace, who wrote the article about the engine that was most comprehensive and innovative. Her extensive notes showed that she had much more detailed theories and ideas of the machine’s capabilities and potential than Babbage. In her notes, the mathematician described the algorithm that she predicted the machine would be able to carry out, and many believe this to be the first idea for a computer program.
The Life Raft
Philadelphia born Beasley held fourteen different patents for inventions, but her most lasting design was of the life raft, a collapsible boat that could be easily stored for use in a sinking vessel. Her design even made it to the Titanic, although in far too little a quantity.
Central Heating
Inventor Alice Parker patented a design for a gas heating furnace in 1919 that would lead to the invention of central heating. Her invention took out the need to stock and burn wood in a traditional furnace.
The Dishwasher
Cochrane was sick of her nice dishes being broken in the washing process, so in 1886 she invented the machine with a wooden wheel that laid flat in a copper boiler. When turning the wheel by hand (or through a pulley), soapy, hot water would cycle through the compartments holding dishes. And it changed everything.
The dishwasher premiered at the Chicago World’s fair and was a huge success — especially in service industries like hotels and restaurants. Cochrane then opened her own factory which later became KitchenAid.
The Coffee Filter
Bentz was sick of cups of coffee filled with bitter grounds, so she took paper out of her son’s school notebook and created a filter for the coffee to drip through. Her patent went through in 1908 and the coffee industry was forever changed.
COBOL (one of the first modern programming languages)
Grace Hopper developed a compiler for some of the first computers. This was the precursor to the COBOL language.
Hopper was a computer programmer who joined the Navy during World War II and was assigned to the Mark I computer. She led her team to create the first computer language compiler which was a revolution in computer programming. The compiler renders worded instructions into code that can be read by computers. We have her to thank for our rampant use of modern computers today.