Women Inventions

Circular Saw- Tabitha Babbitt (1810)

She observed men cutting wood with a pit saw, which is a two-handled saw that requires two men to pull it back and forth.

Though the saw is pulled both ways, it only cuts wood when it's pulled forward; the return stroke is useless.

To Babbitt, that was wasted energy, so she created a prototype of the circular saw that would go on to be used in saw mills.


Chocolate Chip Cookies-Ruth Wakefield (1930)

She took a Nestle chocolate bar, crumbled it into pieces and threw it into her batter, expecting the chocolate pieces to melt during baking.

Instead, the chocolate held its shape, and the chocolate chip cookie was born.

Liquid Paper-Bette Nesmith Graham(1950)

Retyping entire pages because of one tiny mistake, as the new model's carbon ribbon made it difficult to correct errors in typewriters.

A water-based tempera paint with dye that matched her stationary and, using a fine watercolor brush, she was able to quickly correct her errors.

The Compiler and COBOL Computer Language- 1950s, Admiral Hopper

She invented the compiler, which translates English commands into computer code.

Admiral Hopper also oversaw the development of the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL), one of the first computer programming languages.

Colored Flare System- Martha Coston

The Square-bottomed Paper Bag-Margaret Knight

Dishwasher-Josephine Cochrane

Windshield Wiper-Mary Anderson

Nystatin(effective fungus-killing drug)-Hazen in 1950.

Kevlar-Stephanie Kwolek 1964