Men invented the car and the submarine

Welcome to MN and to FWR, phanley. If you find this thread pointless and the rest of the topic of so little interest that you have to bump a five year old thread about a comedy, maybe there's some other topics - Chat? Telly Addicts? - that would suit you better.

What's wrong with men inventing things and women inventing thing? I'm sorry what is the whole point of this thread?

Thanks for this thread - it's given me a long overdue reminder to brush up on my history (herstory? ). Some women responsible for great inventions that I've now learnt about:

Bertha Benz financier, publicised and promoter and first real driver of the worlds first car (also actual inventor of the first brake pads for it). Would have been the patent holder but she had got married by the time it was granted and so was not allowed to hold property herself.

Also inventor of a car (the K-D automobile) but famous for creating a machine to make paper bags Margaret Knight also invented many other machines including rotary engines and improved combustion engines. She had no education after the age of 12 and came up with her first invention around that age working in a cotton mill (it was an automatic shut off mechanism for malfunctioning looms which saved many lives). She had to fight every step of the way - a man called Charles's Annan, saw her paper bag machine model being created in an iron workshop and filed a patent on it before she did. The defence his lawyer offered was that women didn’t have adequate knowledge about machines to be able to create such a sophisticated machine. Fortunately she had enough proof to be awarded the patent in court but even after that the workers at the factory where the bags were to be made refused to take instructions from her on how to install the machine because they believed that women didn’t understand machinery.

For someone a little more recent Stephanie Kwolek, inventor of Kevlar, (super light and flexible compound with 5 times the strength of steel) is used in lots of hi tech kit including mobiles, aircraft, bullet proof vests, and is being tested now as a way to protect aircraft from onboard bombs

And finally, because submarines were in the thread title, Katharine Blodgett inventor of non reflective glass enabling spy cameras and better submarine periscopes in ww2 (she also improved gas masks and invented a way to de-ice aircraft in flight which meant pilots could fly in conditions that had previously prevented them).

Apart from Benz they never married, I suspect inventing may not be compatible with wifework...

Did I suggest it was a bad thing that there were lots of Americans?

Why so defensive?

man's greatest invention is THE WIFE. BTW there was a woman pope in the Middle ages and she had a baby-go figure!

I wasn't aware feminism was an issue?

I thought feminism was a global issue?

Goodness... lots of Americans suddenly, at least posts will go up overnight now, eh?

Women have not been given equality in invention as science has mostly been a male only topic for many years. Women were definitely limited in knowledge opportunity and thus had a much less chance to invent. Yes, I think that women have continued to invent even in this inequality... which is so cool. That the great women of our time have done very well even in such inequality shows how intelligent women are.
There needs to be an equal chance for invention. Today, we do allow women in universities and they get an education, however it is my opinion that although women are given equal chance at education - I find education standards and way of working still male focused. The techniques used in school are old and outdated, which were built by men for men. Math class or science class can still be felt as a male orientated teaching...
There is still lots of work for feminists in education and other areas, which I think about still male focused and give women an unequal chance to be creators in or society.

? what does that mean

A woman pope?

I like that women who have made discoveries in the past are now being given airtime in eg museums, on the BBC there is a lot, on facebook I see stuff. Ada Lovelace, Mary Anning, what Hedy Lamarr got up to when she wasn't busy being a beautiful film star, and etc, these things were not so widely known about even a few decades ago.

There is and has been an effort to write the contributions women made back into the history books, and that is good.

If people actually knew the restrictions, legal and social, placed on women in the past what would surprise them is that any women at all made it into the history books.

They weren't even allowed into public libraries FGS. And whilst men were busy networking and discussing science and politics in coffee houses the only women allowed in those places were prostitutes.

The problem is we don't teach this in school because it's too unsavoury but it allows people to believe it's because women were incapable rather than the actual truth.

Exactly florafox.

Just imagine a world which could have been enriched by the talents of the other 50% of society. A far more bountiful place.

I find it sad to think of the lost music, art, inventions etc that we have never experienced because the women who would have made them were confined by society's view of their role as women.

Why do you find it sad, goblin?

No not a wind up lightning- it's simply a true and very sad fact.

Looks like several. Unfortunately.

How many Jeffreys are we going to have to get through exactly?

Men invented most things since the industrial revolution. They have also been the best composers, musicians, artists, economists, politicians,scientists, engineers, sculptors , church leaders biscuit... the list goes on."

Is this a wind up or do I really need to point out that men were only the best because women were simply not allowed to play? And yet, still, despite the entirety of society being engineered to keep them down, women still do pop up in all these areas throughout history.

How sexist.

Really? In what way? Girls don't use computers maybe? Have spots? Sit in their bedrooms? Hope they will enjoy the tea their mum has made? Are never social inadequates?

Quite a few, rather sexist assumptions you've made about boys there in that case, don't you think goblin? Sorry you're unable to see past your prejudices there.

*Without women, you'd still be sat in your bedroom, picking your spots and hoping your mum had made a tea you liked, completely unable to demonstrate to several other women at once just what a complete social inadequate you are.
*

How sexist.

It's amazing what women can do when they get access to education.

And are listened to.

And don't have their work stolen by men.

Men might have invented the car and part of the submarine. However, a woman discovered the technology which allows you to sit and whine on a forum.

Without women, you'd still be sat in your bedroom, picking your spots and hoping your mum had made a tea you liked, completely unable to demonstrate to several other women at once just what a complete social inadequate you are.

Hurray for women.