Inventions: Man-made or woman-made?

If somebody said ‘Inventions’ the first word you’ll probably associate with it is ‘wheel’. And you’ll assume Early Man invented it. But I’d like to think it was Early Woman because the most practical labour-saving devices have come from simple logical ways to make life easier for womankind (rather than the generalisation — mankind). April 21 is celebrated as World Creativity & Innovation Day to mark Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday (born in 1452). I am happy to share with you that even the world’s greatest inventive mind ever attributed his creativity to his strong feminine side.

That light bulb moment

True, Edison’s Light Bulb electrified the whole world’s imagination towards tech inventions, yet you’ll be amazed how many products came about, simply by women finding ways to cope with the drudgery of housework.

Like the humble mop. Remember Joy — the Oscar-winning film of the true-life Joy Mogano (Jennifer Lawrence) a self-made millionaire in New York? This divorced single mother used her frustration with wet hands and back-breaking swabbing, to figure out a simple twist in the long handle, and created a self-wringing mop. Her first TV demo show sold 18,000 mops in 20 seconds, inspiring several clever kitchen conveniences you use today. Like the simple foot pedal to open and shut a trash can, invented by Lillian Gilbert, a housewife with both hands full. (She had 12 kids!) The automatic Rotimatic by Pranoti Israni whose arms got tired rolling out endless chapatis. The strap-on baby carrier Snugli by Ann Moore, which kept a busy mother’s hands free for multitasking. Overworked new moms owe it to Marion Donovan for her ‘mother of all inventions’. One long night, a sleep-deprived Marion snipped away a piece of her shower curtain, placed her baby’s nappy within, ran her sewing machine; sewed on fasteners — and went back to sleep. A few years later, P&G bought her patent for millions, to create Pampers! 

The wifey behind your wi-fi

But did you ever imagine Hollywood’s most ravishing actress of the 1930s (Samson and Delilah) is behind your wi-fi, GPS and Bluetooth today? Hedy Lamarr (who dismantled a music box to learn how things worked at age 5) broke out of her stifling marriage to a rich arms dealer for Hitler. And with her gifted mathematical ability, went on to co-develop ‘frequency hopping’ in WW-2. This prevented enemies from jamming torpedo signals, guiding them to reach targets accurately — a revolutionary technology that’s the foundation for the guided portable devices we use every day. And here’s another example of unsung female ingenuity. In 1928 Anita Willets-Burnham, a travelling artist found no porter (nor a husband) to carry her heavy bag, so she attached four baby carriage wheels below her suitcase — leading to the wheeled suitcase. On Leonardo Da Vinci’s 572nd birthday, he’d be pleased to know that it took a woman to reinvent the wheel.

(He Said/She Said is a monthly column on gender issues — funny side up. Reach the author at [e-mail])