Mothers of Invention: Women Who Create!M

ot

her

s o

f I

nv

ent

ion:

Wom

en W

ho C

reat

e Mo

th

er

s o

f In

vent

ion:

Wom

en Who Create

A Hot Topics Supplement from

The ice cream cone may have been invented –also by a woman – just that way. One story(although there are several stories of this inven-tion) is that a young woman was attending theWorld’s Fair in St. Louis, Mo., in 1904. She waswalking along, eating an ice cream sandwich and

carrying a bunch of flowers. She washaving a hard time balancing both, soshe took one cookie from the sandwich and wrappedit around the flowers to hold them together. Shewrapped the other cookie, cone-like, around the icecream so she could hold it without it splattering onher dress. The nearby ice-cream salesman saw this,thought it brilliant and started selling ice cream with acone of cookie wrapped around it. Voila! The icecream cone was born. One person thought of the idea,but another person was smart enough to use it and tellothers. Sometimes the idea belongs to the inventor andsometimes the inventor is just clever enough to know agood idea when she sees one!

Necessity may be the mother of invention, just asmany women have given birthto new ways of doingthings. Women, like

men, have used curiosity, creativityand hard work to come up withways to make all our lives easier.How many times has your motherhelped you solve a problem insome clever way?

2

One stormy day in 1902, a woman named Mary Anderson wasriding in a streetcar when she noticed that the driver had to openthe window (in those days the front windshield opened in the mid-dle) in order to see because snow was covering the window. Thatdidn’t work too well, and the poor streetcar driver was hit in theface with an icy blast of cold and snow. Once she saw the problem,Anderson thought of a solu-tion and – swish, swish – thewindshield wiper was invent-ed. By 1916, all new carshad windshield wipers.

“Necessity,” it is said, “is themother of invention.” Thatmeans that inven-tors see a need or a problem andcome up with away to fill thatneed or solve thatproblem. Other inven-tions might be theresult of curiosity oraccident. That meansthat someone mightinvent something without really trying.

Learning Standard:

using prior knowledge and experience

Necessities are things that

you need in order to live,

things you would die without.

Luxuries are things that you

want, that make life easier.

Find three of each in

today’s newspaper.

Discove

r the

News

TMTrademark

smService mark

“Necessity,” it is said,

“is the mother of

invention.””

Swish, Swish, Splat! Splat!

necessity ideas

3

Since the earliest times,women have designed cre-ative ways of doing things.The first women wereresponsible for their families’food and clothing, so it islikely that they alsoinvented the first toolsfor preparing food andcreating cloth.Anthropologists (people who study the development of people)believe that women invented tools like the mortar and pestle (aheavy bowl and a club-like hammer), used to grind flour and pre-pare food and medicines. They also think that women were thefirst to design shelters and clothing. In other words, necessi-ties (such as food, clothing and shelter) led to inven-tions (such as tools, cloth and places to live).Necessity gave birth to invention.

And, speaking of birth, within seconds after youwere born, you took your first test, which wasinvented by a woman. In 1949, Dr. VirginiaApgar developed a test for checking a baby’shealth right at birth. Up to that point, doctors

figuredthat ababy washealthy unless heor she had somethingnoticeably wrong at birth.Dr. Apgar knew that themoments just after birthwere really important tothe health of a baby. Shedidn’t think that justlooking at a baby was acareful way to test for

problems. So, she created a point system to check a baby’s breath-ing, reflexes, muscle tone, heart rate and color. The points make upan “Apgar score” based on the results of those checks. This systemhas saved thousands of lives and is used all over the world.

Patents Protect InventorsSometimes when an inventor gets an idea, shechooses to protect it so that others cannot steal it ormake money from it. A patent is a government document that doesjust that. To patent an invention, the inventor has to prove that itis new and useful. The inventor will often hire a lawyer or a patentagent to help complete the complicated application. Then, if thepatent is approved, the inventor pays a fee and her invention isprotected for 20 years.

The U.S. Patent office has a great Web site for students. Check itout at http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/

©Copyright

Credits:This Hot Topics supplement was:

Written by Debby Carroll

Edited by Ken Bookman

Learning activities by Ned Carroll

Designed by Berns and Kay, Ltd.

Cover illustration by Tanya Roitman

Some photos by Shira Carroll

Copyright, 2001 Hot Topics Publications

Hot Topics PublicationsSimply The Best For NIE

PO Box 183Wyncote, PA 19095-0183

®Registered

invention!Lea

rning

Standa

rd:

organi

zing, d

isplay

ing an

d anal

yzing

data

The A

pgar

scor

e was

a ra

ting

syst

em fo

r new

born

s. Dev

elop

your

own r

ating

syst

em, u

sing a

rti-

cles f

rom th

e fro

nt pa

ge. U

se a

rat-

ing sc

ale fr

om 1

to 10

to sh

ow ho

w

impo

rtant

each

artic

le is

to th

e

world,

the U

nited

Sta

tes,

your

commun

ity an

d you

. Mak

e a

char

t to s

how th

e

resu

lts.

Discover the News

4

Barbie is Born!Ruth Handler watched herdaughter play with paperdolls. She noticed thatBarbara always played withthe adult dolls, never with theones that looked like babiesor like girls her own age.Little girls didn’t want to play at being girls. Theyalready were girls. Instead, they wanted to play at beingwhat they weren’t yet – grown women, wearing glam-orous clothes and leading exciting lives. Handler wantedto make a real doll that looked like a woman. In March1959, Barbie (Named for Handler’s daughter Barbara)was born, followed by Ken (named for her son,Kenneth). The toy world was changed forever! Howmany Barbie dolls are in your house?

In the early 1700s, colonist Sybilla Masters was the firstwoman inventor. Well, she wasn’t actually the first

woman to invent something, but she was thefirst to be recorded as an inventor. And eventhat was tricky. Masters invented a way toprocess corn (sometimes known as maize) intomany food and cloth products, and she want-ed to patent her invention. But there was alaw in 1715 that women could not ownpatents, so the patent was in her husband’s

name, though he was not the inventor.

INVENTIONSF O R T H E

H O M E

It’s A-Maizing!

Frances Gabe hated housework. She called it a “nerve-twangling bore.” She had to do something, so, in 1984,she invented the self-cleaning house. Each room ofGabe’s house has a 10-inch square “Cleaning/ Drying/Heating/Cooling” apparatus in the middle of the ceiling.At the touch of a button, it sprays apowerful blast of soapy water over theroom, then rinses and blow-driesthe entire area. The rooms’ floorsare sloped slightly so the extrawater runs off. The breakablestuff is protected under glass. The

dishes are cleaned, dried and kept in acabinet, which is also

a dishwasher; clothes are cleaned,dried and stored while hangingin a closet, which is also a

combination washer-dryer. Thesinks, tubs and toilets are self-cleaning

and the bookshelves dust themselves. Gabe contin-ued to perfect and live in her house for manyyears. Is there a chore you don’t like? Canyou find a creative way to solve thatproblem?

5

Babies: Safe and SECURESometimes an inventor gets an idea from watching

how other people solve problems. Ann Moore was anurse with the Peace Corps in Togo, Africa, in the early

1960s. She noticed that thenative women tied slings

around their bodies tohold their babies so theycould use their hands towork and to carry otherthings. This way, thebabies were warm, safe

and secure while themothers were able to do

their work. Moore and hermother, Lucy Aukerman, designed and patented the

"Snugli" (1969), a pouch-like baby carrier. Today, theSnugli can be seen everywhere. You probably rode in oneyourself when you were a baby.

Learning Standard:

analyzing cultural characteristics

The pouch-like baby carri-

er, “Snugli,” was an idea that

originated in Africa. The ideas

and traditions of one culture can

often be adapted in other cul-

tures. Use the newspaper to find

some cultural feature that is

different from our tradi-

tions in the United

States.

Discove

r the

News

I HATE

Housework

!

The Wetness WonderIn 1950, Marion Donovan was ayoung, creative mother with toomany diapers to wash. Shethought of a way to get out ofthis thankless job. She used ashower curtain (certainly thatcould handle wetness!) toinvent what she called the“Boater” – a plastic coveringfor a cloth diaper. After that, she

used dispos-able (throwaway)

material that could soakup water and combined itwith her Boater design tomake the first disposablediaper. Manufacturersthought her product

would cost too much tomake and were not interested,

so Donovan started her own busi-ness. A few years later, she was able to sell her companyfor $1 million. Parents worldwide probably are thankfulevery day for her hard work.

Like Water Off a Duck’s BackOne day in 1953, Patsy Sherman was at worktrying to invent a new kind of rubber to be usedin the fuel lines of jet airplanes. A lab assistantdropped a glass beaker of the mixture and itscontents splashed all over their shoes. Not only

couldn’t they wash the stuff off theirshoes, but also they noticed that the

water they used when theytried to wash it off just beadedup and rolled off the shoes “like

water off a duck’s back.”That’s how Scotchgard™

was born. When it is put oncloth, the chemical surrounds

the fibers with an invisibleshield that can’t be pene-

trated by water, oils, most other liq-uids, or dirt. The chemical keeps fabrics clean andmakes them stronger. Sherman continued to work andperfect that and other inventions. She said, "Anyonecan become an inventor, as long as they keep anopen and inquiring mind and never over-look the possible significance of an acci-dent or apparent failure."

6

Cheaper by the DozenThe book Cheaper by the Dozen was writtenabout the Gilbreths, a family of two parents and12 children. The mother was Lillian Moller

Gilbreth. If ever there was a woman with a goodreason to invent things to make home life easier,she was certainly that woman! Gilbreth patentedmany devices, including an electric food mixerand a trash can with a step-on lid-opener thatwas used in lots of homes.

Learning Standard:

understanding the impact of technology

You probably don’t live in a

self-cleaning house, so you prob-

ably do have to clean your room.

But there are many inventions

that make your life easy. Do a

newspaper search for the top 10

most convenient items. Write

a short explanation of why

you chose each one.

Discove

r the

News

HouseholdCreativity

Don’t you just hate it whenyou’re playing in the snowand the snow gets up past your gloves and works itsway into your sleeves? Then your coat sleeves are all

wet and your arms are cold and wet. Well,10-year-old Kathryn (K-K) Gregory hated

it enough to do something about it.With her mother’s help, she sewedsome fleece tubes that fit snugly overher forearms but under her gloves.She made them for her friends in herGirl Scout troop and they were a big

hit. She named her invention“Wristies,” applied for a trademark and

founded a company, Wristies®, Inc. In the fallof 1997, K-K became the youngest person ever to pro-mote a product on QVC, where a 6-minute spot earnedher $22,000 in sales.

7

FemaleFirsts!

BeautySecrets

Margaret Stewart Joyner understood that a person’sappearance would affect the way that person felt andthat how the person felt would affect how she acted. Sheknew that people who felt good about their appearanceacted with more self-respect and more respect for others,too. She invented a permanent-wave machine to createhairstyles that would last for a long time. In 1926, shebecame the first African American woman to receive apatent for her invention, and that opened the door formany others to follow. She workedfor years to help youngAfrican Americans findjobs and she raisedmoney for AfricanAmerican colleges.

Discove

r the

News

Learning Standard:

demonstrating that individuals make

choices Find an item in the newspaper

that you would like to sell.

What are the most important

points you would like the

customers to know? Write

a script for a radio

commercial for

your product.

Cold Arms

8

BRAINSTORMWhen peoplecome up with agood idea,they some-times saythey’ve had abrainstorm.Brainstormingis also a processthat scientists useto develop new ideas.Brainstorming is a free-wheeling way of thinking thatcan get the mind flowing with ideas.The goal is to let loose lots of ideas, withoutjudging whether they are good orbad. When brainstorming, youshould try to think with your wildimagination. Know no boundaries!Go nuts!

PAPER CLIP POSSIBILITIESTry this brainstorming activity.Here is a picture of some ordinary paper clips. Ask yourteacher to pass out some paper clips so that everyone gets to

check one out. Look at the clipseriously to see how it works. Thentake turns brainstorming ideasabout creative uses for the paperclip. Call out your ideas, one at atime, so that your teacher can writethem on the board. Remember, therules of brainstorming are that onlyone person speaks at a time and

that no one passes judgement on anyone’s ideas. When there’sa nice long list of ideas on the board, take some time to talkabout which ones could work the best. Which is the most cre-ative? Which is the most bizarre?

Now that you are thinking like an inventor, it’s time to find aproblem and create an invention to solve the problem.

1. Begin with a survey.

Interview everyone you can think of to

find out what problems need solutions.

What kind of invention, tool, game, device, or idea would be help-

ful at home or at school?

2. List the problems thatneed to be solved.

Think about the simple, everyday prob-

lems that come up. Not enough pens or

pencils? Hair too long to reach with a

regular brush? Forgetting homework

assignments too often? Computer key-

board always dusty? Dog eating the cat

food? Bed unmade?

3. Get down to nuts and bolts.

Next comes the decision-making

process. Using your list of prob-

lems, decide which ones it would

be possible for you to work on.

Predict the outcome or possible

solution(s) for each problem.

Make a decision by choosing one

or two problems that you could

solve with some kind of invention.

Think

Like an Inventor!Throughout this section, you’ve read about

women who came up with creative ways to solveproblems. These women all had an ability to thinkinventively. They were able to look at problems and

solve them in new ways. This is what inventorsdo. It’s how their minds work. How about

you? Can you think like an inventor?Try it!

12STEPS TO BEING AN INVENTOR

9

4. Hook your ideastogether.

Begin writing an Inventor’s Log or

Journal. A record of your ideas and

work will help you develop your

invention.

5. Nail down your bestidea.

Brainstorm inventions that could solve the

problem. Zero in on the one idea that you

think is your best. Then ask yourself these

questions:

? Is my idea practical?

? Can it be made easily?

? Is it as simple as possible?

? Is it safe?

? Will it cost too much to make or

use?

? Is my idea really new?

? Will it be strong enough or will it

break easily?

6. Is your rose a rose?

Now that you’ve found a problem

and a possible solution, name your

invention.

7. Create in color.

Draw your invention. You may

even want to make a model of it.

8. Prioritize

List, in order, the steps for

completing your invention,

including all the materials

you will need to build it.

9. Erase all obstacles.

Think of the possible problems that might

occur. How might you solve them?

10. Bandyour effortstogether.

Collect your mate-

rials and complete

your invention. You

may want to ask

your parents and/or

teacher for advice.

11. Map a marketingstrategy

Develop a marketing slogan or jin-

gle to sell your product. Why do

companies use slogans? What are

some that you know?

12. Clip and comparethe competition

Collect newspaper ads that are

eye-catching and outstanding. Then

create one of your own for your

invention.

Congratulations! You’re on your way!

10

Petroleum Breaks Down

During the mid 1950s, EdithFlanigen worked on the complicat-ed process of breaking down petroleum (crude oil),which is unusable unless it is first broken down.Gasoline is one of the substances that comes from petroleum, but she is also responsible for creating atleast 200 other things. While mostpeople have never heard ofFlanigen, she is quite famousamong chemists andother researchers.

INVENTIONS FOR THE

If You Build It, IT WILL LASTSculptor Patricia Billings was certainly heartbrokenwhen a swan she worked on for months fell and shat-tered into a million pieces. She studied other greatartists, like Michelangelo, and she knew they had oftenmixed in a kind of cement that made their plaster sculp-tures stronger. So, in the late 1970s, she took some timeoff from her art to develop a strong material for sculpt-

ing. That detour was sure profitable asshe ended up creating Geobond®, a

material so strong it not onlyresists breakage but fire, too!Geobond® products areso resistant to heat that

after being torched with a2,000˚F flame for four

hours, it’s just warm. Billingshas won two patents for her work, but shehas kept the complete recipe forGeobond® a secret. Contractors began touse Geobond®, and people who saw howit could be used for fireproof building were reallyimpressed.

Learning Standard:

recognizing technology as the result

of a creative act

We have made incredible

advances in technology since

the “photocopying” of the

1920s. Make a list from the

newspaper of the latest and

greatest in technology.

WORKPLACE

Discove

r the

News

11

Beulah Gets BusyBeulah Henry was one busy lady during the 1920s. Shehad 110 different inventions in many different fields. One

of her most famous was a form of“photocopying” that could makefour copies at one time. That

may not seem like a big dealnow, but in those days, theability to write something

once and make four copiesinstantly, without having to write it over and over, washuge news!

Many police officers’ lives have probably been saved bythe work of Stephanie Kwolek. She specialized in creatinglong molecule chains at low temperatures in order to cre-ate synthetic (not natural) fibers, or cloth, of incrediblestiffness and strength. The result, in 1965, was Kevlar®, amaterial which is five times stronger than steel, fromwhich bulletproof vests are made. These vests are capableof stopping bullets and therefore can save the lives ofpolice officers and others. Kevlar® is also used to makeskis, radial tires, racing sails and numerous other items.Kwolek’s work has earned her many awards, including aLifetime Achievement award from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.

OOPS! I Did It AgainBette Nesmith Graham was a secretarywith a problem – poor typing skills. Now,this may not seem like a big deal to youbecause you type on a computer and yourmistakes can be fixed instantly. (In fact,your computer may even correct your mis-takes while you type!) But in Graham’sday, back in the 1950s, typewriters weren’tso forgiving. If you made a mistake, evenjust one incorrect character, you mighthave to retype an entire page because era-sures made papers look messy, and thatwas no good. So Graham came up with abrilliant way to fix mistakes: by basicallypainting over them with a white liquid,which, when dry, looked just like the paperit was typed on. Then she could type overwhere the mistake was and no one wouldbe the wiser. First she called the stuff“Mistake Out” and later, as more andmore people wanted it, she changed thename to “Liquid Paper” (commonly called“Wite-Out”) and patented it. Eventually,she sold her company for $47.5 million.Not bad for someone who just couldn’ttype well. What things are you bad at thatmight someday help you invent somethingwonderful?

LIVES SAVED!

12

CATEGORY JOB 1 JOB 2 JOB 3

Business

Medicine

Education

Computer Technology

Retail Sales

Public Relations

Manufacturing

There are many different occupations, or jobs, for people whocan think creatively.With your class, brainstorm a list of jobswhere creative thinking is needed.Then, complete this chart usingthe information from the Help Wanted ads in the newspaper. Seeif you can find three jobs in each category that would requireinventive thinking.After you have found a few jobs in each catego-ry, choose one that you think is best for you. Use the lines belowthe chart to write a paragraph telling why you would be good forthis job.

Creative Thinking IN THE WORKPLACE

Fun Company XYZ

The best job for me is:

I’d be good at this job because

Learning Standard:

making choices by analyzing

consequences and solutions

Sometimes it is not so easy to

just paint over your mistakes.

Look through the newspaper for an

example of someone who has made

a mistake. What actions could have

been taken to avoid or correct

the situation? Provide some

words of wisdom to

the offender.

Discove

r the

News

13

Independence For AllBessie Blount was a physical therapist whowanted to help people. She was trying to teachamputees (people who have lost a limb) to usetheir feet to do the work that their hands once

did. She really wanted them to be able to eat bythemselves and feel independent, so she invented a

machine that would help in eating. The food was deliveredthrough a tube, one bite at a time, to a mouthpiece thatcould be used whether the patient was sitting up or lyingdown. When the person wanted more food, he or she just

needed to bite down on the tube to signal the machine to sendthe next mouthful. Unable to get her feeding devices into the

market, she signed the rights over to the French gov-ernment in 1952 with the statement that she

had proven “that a black woman can inventsomething for the benefit of humankind.”

Leukemia-FightingDrugs

Gertrude Belle Elion invented theleukemia-fighting drug 6-mercaptopurine as

well as drugs that help in kidney transplants.Early in her career, she taught high school science

and then became a chemist for a drug company, where she later developedthese important medications as well as many others. In 1988, Elionshared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with George Hitchings and researcherSir James Black. Her name appears on 45 patents.

Learning Standard:

describing how people use science in

their professions

You have just developed a

medical breakthrough. Search for

a medical-related organization in

the newspaper that would be

interested in hearing about your

findings. Write a business letter

explaining your discovery and

why this group should be

interested.

Discove

r the

News

for the DOCTOR’S OFFICE

INVENTIONS

14

Beautiful and BrainyActress Hedy Lamarrwas gorgeous and bril-liant. She was married toa man who sold weaponsfor a living. During herconversations with him, shecame up with an idea. InJune 1941, she patented anidea for a radio-controlledtorpedo. It was never usedduring World War II, but,shortly thereafter, the SylvaniaCompany used her idea for thebasis of its satellite-communicationtechnology, much of which is stillused today.

Learning Standard:

describing technology's role in everyday life

Can you find instances where the

inventions on these pages could have

helped a situation in the news? Rewrite

one article telling how one of these inven-

tions could have changed the story.

Learning Standard:

explaining the importance of public service

Women play an important role in society.

Find the greatest accomplishment made

by a woman in today's newspaper.

Design a certificate of achievement

explaining her success.

Discover the News

I N V E N T I O N SFor Government Service

ph

oto

from

: http

://ww

w.g

eocities.co

m/H

ollyw

oo

d/H

ills/1797/

15

MISSIONACCOMPLISHEDWhen Neil Armstrong first walked onthe moon in July 1969, Ellen Ochoawas 11 years old. She probably didn’tdream that someday she, too, could bean astronaut. She grew up and attend-ed college at Stanford University,where she began working on opticalsystems, or machines that analyze whatthey “see.” In time, Ochoa, as co-inventor, won patents for three opticaldevices: a system that inspects objects;a system that identifies and can "rec-ognize" objects; and a system thatminimizes distortion in the picturestaken of an object. Her expertisegrabbed the attention of NASA (theNational Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) and in July 1991,Ochoa became a U.S. astronaut.

Less than two years later, Ochoa flewas a mission specialist on aDiscovery spaceshuttle mission. Thenext year, she waspayload com-mander on afollow-up shut-tle mission. EllenOchoa has wonmany awards forher success as anengineer, an astro-naut, and a rolemodel – for aspiringHispanic and

female scientists and for everyone whobelieves that excellence pays off.

SPACE TRASHSpace may be boundless, but it’s notalways clean. There is actually debrisfloating in space, traveling at a speed of18,000 miles per hour. The debris –rocks, sand or even bits of metal – fly-ing through space at that speed couldcause immense damage if it hits satel-lites, space shuttles or space stations upthere. That’s why, in 1980, Jeanne LeeCrews stepped in to solve this problem.Her goal as an aerospace engineer forNASA was to create a shield, almostlike a space bumper, to protect theequipment. She succeeded in developingthe multishock shield, using layers ofmaterial to break up anything that hitsimportant equipment. Now, if only cars

could have such a terrific shield!

Universal Achievements

egg drop

16

Here is a project for your whole class, so you will all besolving the same problem.

The problem: You need to drop a raw egg from a highplace (try standing on a chair and reach up to drop theegg, but be careful!) without breaking it. You can’t lowerit on a string; it has to free-fall to the ground, inside acardboard box.

In order to do this project and solve this problem, youwill need a box and some stuff to put inside. You’ll wantto choose materials that will absorb the shock so thatthe egg doesn’t break. You can also think of creativeways to place the egg in the box to protect it.

Step One:Brainstorm a list of stuff you think would be shock-

absorbent. These should be materials you could easilyfind around the house.

Here are a few to get you started and some lines toadd more ideas:■ Newspaper ■ Cotton balls ■ Old socks

OPERATION egg drop

Step 2:Sketch an idea for how you will set up your box to house

the egg. Remember that inventors see things in their mindsbefore they begin creating. In this frame, sketch the outlineof your box and how you think you will put the egg in there.Label the parts, showing the material you plan to use and howthe egg will nest in there. Remember that the egg needs tosit firmly in the box, so you need to show in your sketch howyou will hold it in place.

Step 3:Build your egg box and drop it from a high place. What hap-

pened? (Don’t forget – it is your responsibility to clean up anymess made by this project.) Write the results of your eggdrop project on another sheet of paper..