Four Inventions from Women
Though it wasn't always easy to get patents or the credit, women are responsible for many items we use today. Below are some of them.
A Solar House
In 1947, Mária Telkes, together with Eleanor Raymond, invented the world's first modern residence heated with solar energy. The house was called Dover Sun House, built in Dover, Massachusetts, in 1948. She also invented other devices capable of storing energy captured from sunlight, and her remarkable achievements made a difference to current solar industry.
A Computer Term
Grace Hopper programmed for the earliest computer machines. Interestingly, Hopper's first major invention in the field of software design was the creation of a famous computer term, "bug". In 1947, she found a small moth in the Mark II computer, and it was this little bug that was "jamming (卡住)" the machine, Hopper jokingly referred to "failing to work" as a "bug", a strange term that has since developed into a computer industry term.
Dish Washing Machine
Along with another engineer, Josephine Cochrane invented the first hand-powered dish-washer. Patented in 1886, the first dish washing machine combined high water pressure, a wheel, a boiler, and a wire framework like the ones still used for dish drying. As its inventor, Josephine Cochrane never used dishwasher herself, but it made others' life easier.
Home Security System
You might be surprised to discover that the first home security system was actually invented by Marie Van Brittan Brown in 1966. Alongside her husband, she created a system containing a sliding camera, a two-way microphone, TV monitors. There was also an emergency button with which the police could be contacted in case of emergencies, and a remote control used to unlock doors.
