Not a lady's business: inventions that appeared in cars thanks to women (9 photos)

If at the dawn of the automobile industry, male designers were primarily interested in engines, transmissions and horsepower, then female inventors thought about driving comfort and safety. Without the improvements proposed by the ladies, the cars could look completely different...





It is believed that being interested in, let alone tinkering with, a car is the lot of men. And there is nothing strange in this - after all, the first car was invented by a representative of the stronger sex. But women put their caring hands into improving the car.



Yes, the inventions of women are not as grandiose as the internal combustion engine, but the ladies looked at the car from a different angle, and without their inventions, driving a car would not be so comfortable and safe.

Stove

Now it’s hard to imagine a car without interior heating, but the first cars were without a heater. The designers understood that a comfortable temperature for the driver and passengers must be maintained inside the car. And they solved this problem: they made a hole in the engine shield, which was covered with a lid. If necessary, the driver moved the damper a little and warm air flowed into the cabin from the engine compartment.

Now such cars with an antediluvian heating system are museum pieces





But such a “heater” was extremely inconvenient. And then Margaret Wilcox proposed a new design for heating the interior, which she patented in 1983. Her system consisted of a boiler that was located outside the car. Metal tubes were connected to it, some of which were led out into the cabin. Heated liquid circulated through the tubes, heating the interior.

Drawing of the invention in the documentation for a patent



Wipers

Another American woman gave windshield wipers to cars. According to Mary Anderson, the idea of ​​​​creating a glass cleaner was pushed to her by a trolleybus driver, who every now and then got out of the vehicle and manually cleared the windshield of snow.



To make life easier for drivers, Mary hired an engineer, with whom she developed the world's first windshield wipers. They consisted of two levers and a piece of rubber. One lever with rubber was installed outside the windshield, the second inside the car. Now the driver could clean the glass without leaving the car.

In 1903, Mary Anderson patented her invention and wanted to sell it to one of the Canadian companies. But unfortunately, her idea was not bought. But 20 years later, its design was included in the list of required equipment for Cadillac.

Turn signals

Turn signals, as you know, are one of the most important elements of any car that ensure safety on the road. And they were invented not by an engineer, but by a silent film actress, Florence Lawrence. With the light hand of the actress, a very simple device appeared in cars that worked by pressing a button. If the driver wanted to turn, flags popped up from the sides of the car. If I braked, a flag appeared on the rear bumper.

Florence Lawrence driving her car



Unlike her predecessors, Florence Lawrence did not patent her invention. She emphasized that she created the turn signals not out of a thirst for money, but out of a great love for cars.

Muffler

Another important detail is the muffler. It was invented by another American woman named El Dorado Jones. Actually, her invention was originally intended for aircraft, but this development was later used by the automotive industry. The muffler was a small propeller that was installed in the path of exhaust gas flows - engine noise was significantly reduced, but its power did not suffer.



Kevlar

Today, Kevlar is used in many applications. But if we talk about the automotive industry, it is used to make tire frames for racing cars. The formula for this material was developed by Stephanie Kwolek in 1966. She was a student at the Faculty of Chemistry and worked part-time as a chemist to pay for further studies. The formula of the new fiber was of no interest to Kwolek - and in vain! Five years later, based on its formula, modern Kevlar was synthesized, which makes tires light and durable.

Stephanie Kwolek in the lab with the team



All these inventions date back to a time when feminism and other emancipation were not mainstream. Even then, no one stopped women from inventing and creating. And thanks to their special look and attention to detail, the cars have become much more comfortable, cozy and safe.