(upbeat music)
Eight women you had no idea saved your ass.
Number one, Anna Connelly.
Fire escapes are usually shown in pop culture
as an easy spot for a smoke break,
but fire escapes are actually life savers.
Before Connelly submitted her patent for one in 1887,
that's the first registered patent for a fire escape,
a building fire was a
one-way trip to Death Town. (fire crackling)
And as your U.S. cities filled up with crowded tenements,
this was a big problem.
Connolly's idea was to build metal bridges between buildings
so that residents could easily escape to a safe spot
without risking their lives
by potentially walking down into flames.
The ones we know today look a little different,
but without Connelly's patent,
fire safety might have taken a lot longer to catch on.
Number two, Maria Beasley.
Don't tell Jack and Rose,
but Beasley filed a patent in 1882
for the first modern life raft,
a foldable, fireproof floating device
with protective guard rails,
the exact kind that was used
to shuttle most women and children to safety
during the sinking of the Titanic 30 years later.
Before then, life rafts looked a lot more like
the door that Rose didn't let Jack on,
and you know the rest.
(chiming music)
Number three, Letitia Geer.
A syringe, which delivers life-saving vaccines and fluids,
is a relatively simple tool
that took a surprisingly long time to perfect.
For centuries, a doctor or nurse
or whoever wanted to stab people with needles
had to use both hands to operate a syringe,
which wasn't terribly convenient.
Geer patented a nifty model in 1889
that only required the use of one hand,
just like the ones we use today.
And for people who regularly have to inject themselves
with syringes, like people with diabetes,
this is a necessary feature.
Number four, Mary Anderson.
You know how annoying, not to mention terrifying,
it gets when windshield wipers get all squeaky
and stop doing their job during a bad rainstorm?
Before Anderson, people didn't even have a way
to save their asses when the clouds opened up.
They just couldn't see.
Anderson came up with an idea for a window cleaning device
in 1902 after an alarming trolley ride
in New York City sleet.
She patented her idea,
the first effective way to keep windshields clean
for safe driving, but she was ahead of her time.
Windshields were optional in those days
and her idea was rejected by manufacturers.
Several men later rode on her coattails
by creating similar, more successful wipers,
and early advertisements declared them
to be the safety measure she knew they could be.
A clear site ahead prevents accidents.
An undimmed vision makes it easier to drive.
Thanks for trying to save our asses, Mary.
(upbeat music)
Number five, Katharine Burr Blodgett.
Speaking of windshields, Blodgett's invention of glass
in 1940 paved the way
for the crystal clear ones all cars have today.
Blodgett was an engineer and scientist at GE,
and the first woman to have a PhD in physics from Cambridge,
no big deal, when she discovered
how to make low reflectance glass.
Not only was it the perfect thing to use in windshields,
it also became the go-to material for eyeglasses.
So the next time you put on your glasses,
you can thank Kathy B. for helping you avoid possible injury
and I don't know, death.
Number six, Stephanie Kwolek.
Kevlar, the super strong and stiff fiber
that Kwolek invented while working at Dupont in 1965,
kind of sounds like the name of a superhero,
and that's because it basically is one.
The synthetic fiber is so resilient
that it can literally stop a steel bullet,
and it's now used in bulletproof vests,
helmets, and protective gloves.
Come to think of it, Kwolek is the real superhero here.
Sorry Kevlar.
- You're gonna be fine baby doll.
(gun bangs)
(zipper zips)
How was that? (upbeat music)
Number seven, Marie Van Brittan Brown.
Think of Brown as your guardian angel
if you have a home security system.
Sorry ADT.
She, along with her husband,
invented a camera-based security system in 1966
that allowed them to see who was
at their front door and set off an alarm,
and could even notify a security company
if the visitor looked dangerous.
They got a patent for their life-saving device in the 1960s,
and it became the forerunner of CCTV
and contemporary high-tech home security systems.
Number eight, Flossie Wong-Staal.
The vital HIV tests we take today
are the result of Wong-Staal's tireless research
into HIV and AIDS.
In 1983, Wong-Staal, along with her team
was the first person to identify HIV as the cause of AIDS,
a crucial step in understanding the then mysterious disease.
From there, she cloned and genetically mapped the virus,
which allowed for research, and later,
the development of a molecular knife
that repressed HIV in stem cells.
Thanks ladies!