You know Rosalind Franklin, the chemist who enabled James Watson and Francis Crick to figure out the structure of DNA, or Marie Curie, who is literally the only person to win a Nobel Prize in TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCIENCES — the incredible contributions women made to the world haven’t been focused on enough.
Name three women you know who invented things. I know I sure can’t — unless Betty Crocker counts. (She was a totally real person who, like, invented the brownie, right?)
So, for the good of (wo)mankind and to save us all from the embarrassing truth that we don’t know anything about women in history, here are seven amazing things you probably didn’t know were invented by women.
1. Kevlar
Yep, around 1965, Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar while working for DuPont USA as a chemist. She reportedly worked there for 15 years in the same position before her breakthrough, which saved literally thousands of lives in the time since it was invented.
The chief executive of DuPont at the time of Kwolek’s death about two years ago called Kwolek “a true pioneer for women in science.”
Working in the same lab for 15 years without promotion and going on to invent a groundbreaking, life-saving technology? If that’s not being a pioneer, I don’t know what is.
2. Satellite propulsion
So many satellites orbit Earth every day, and so many innovations, like the GPS, stem from the ability to keep those satellites in orbit. Any time your GPS rescues you from lostness, you can thank Yvonne Brill because she literally invented the rocket science to keep satellites in orbit.
Oh, and Brill managed to study rocket science, despite being excluded from her university’s engineering program for, you guessed it, being a woman.
3. Computer program
A computer program is basically just an explicit set of instructions telling a machine what to do to achieve a certain result. Ada Lovelace was a mathematician who, through her notes in the 1840s on a proposed mechanical computer, wrote the first set of instructions for a computer, aka the first computer program.
In her notes, Lovelace reportedly anticipated this machine would eventually be able to create music, graphics and be used for science and personal use alike.
Yeah, I’ll bet you didn’t know some English noblewoman basically figured out what computers would do like a zillion years before they even existed.
4. Wi-Fi
Before you complain that your WiFi is slow, think about the decades of innovation that went into it. WiFi wouldn’t be possible without actress Hedy Lamarr, who grew bored of Hollywood and spent her time doing science experiments. In an effort to help the Allies during World War II, Hedy presented the US Navy with a patent on a spread-spectrum radio, which is seen as a precursor to today’s WiFi.
5. You
This is not a part of the official list because it’s not exactly a thing per se, but yes, YOU wouldn’t exist without a woman. It sounds silly, but the world doesn’t even give women props for literally birthing humanity, so let’s all try not to forget that fact, too.
Anyway, these are only some of the most well-known and verifiable things that wouldn’t exist without women, and I dread the thought of all the uncredited innovations and contributions made by women throughout history.
So, people everywhere, let’s stop with this nonsense and finally give all women the props and treatment they deserve. Equal pay is a good start — just sayin’.
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