WEBVTT - 9 Incredible Inventors You'll Want to Meet

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what, mango? What's that? Well? All right, so I

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<v Speaker 1>know we've both got little inventors in our families and

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<v Speaker 1>it's so much fun to see what they come up with.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually read this story recently and I thought i'd

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<v Speaker 1>share it with you. Know, have you heard of this

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<v Speaker 1>Guy's name was Robert W. Patch. I don't think I have.

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<v Speaker 1>You haven't heard of the patch manse Well, this was

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<v Speaker 1>a little over fifty years ago, and Robert got this

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<v Speaker 1>patent for a toy truck design. And the thing is,

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<v Speaker 1>he was just six years old when he got this,

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<v Speaker 1>and he built this toy truck using shoe boxes and

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<v Speaker 1>bottle caps and some nails. But here's the clever thing

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<v Speaker 1>about it. Actually he could transform it from a flatbed

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<v Speaker 1>truck to a dump truck just by moving some of

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<v Speaker 1>the axles. And so his dad, who happened to be

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<v Speaker 1>a patent attorney, sees this and he realizes this is patentable.

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<v Speaker 1>So of course Robert was actually so young that he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't even write his name at the time. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you look back at the patent application, he just signed

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<v Speaker 1>it with an X. That's pretty cute that, like, he

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<v Speaker 1>can invent a truck but he can't sign his name.

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<v Speaker 1>But did he ever make money off it? No, he didn't,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, they just looked at it is something

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<v Speaker 1>that was more fun and fun to get the patent.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually he did get some publicity out of it.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you know, Marketers realized that the shoebox he'd

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<v Speaker 1>used had been built using a CAD shoebox and so

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<v Speaker 1>we got a free pair of kids from it. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not a bad prize for this. But anyway, that's

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<v Speaker 1>just the first of nine stories of inventions that we've

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<v Speaker 1>got for you today. So let's dig in. Hey, their

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<v Speaker 1>podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson

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<v Speaker 1>and as always I'm joined by my good friend Man

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<v Speaker 1>Guesh Ticketer and sitting behind the soundproof booth surrounded by

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<v Speaker 1>I'd say it's at least what do you think somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>around there? It's hard to say, but it's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of bags of shelled peanuts. I mean, this guy, I

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<v Speaker 1>haven't seen him this inspired by something he's been reading

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<v Speaker 1>in a long time, but he's been reading George Washington

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<v Speaker 1>Carver's biography. I think it's actually his second go of

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<v Speaker 1>the biography. It's been fun to watch him just so inspired. Well, anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now me go,

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<v Speaker 1>I know one of your goals as a kid was

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<v Speaker 1>to be an inventor as well, Is that right? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean I had I think four goals as a kid,

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<v Speaker 1>and this was when I was super young. But I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to be an inventor, a composer, a cartoonist, and

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<v Speaker 1>a writer. And obviously, you know, a lot of those

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<v Speaker 1>things didn't pan out. But I used to watch doctor

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good at most of those things. I used to

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<v Speaker 1>watch Dr Fat on TV, who like had invented that

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<v Speaker 1>wacky wall walker, and he'd celebrate kid inventors every week.

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<v Speaker 1>And in first grade I came up with this idea

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<v Speaker 1>for like a glow in the dark patch that you

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<v Speaker 1>could attach to the zipper of a ten, so like

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<v Speaker 1>you could find it easily at night. And I actually

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<v Speaker 1>think that idea came out of necessity when I was

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<v Speaker 1>camping and had to use the bathroom badly. But I

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<v Speaker 1>would just go around inventing cute things like that all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. I mean, that's a great idea, And the

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<v Speaker 1>thing is, honestly, I don't think we've ever owned a

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<v Speaker 1>tent that had a glow in the dark zipper on it.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's there's still room for this. And you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>it's also weird. I haven't thought about those wall walkers

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<v Speaker 1>until you just said that. Those things were so much fun.

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<v Speaker 1>We played with those all the time, all right. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons we wanted to do an episode

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<v Speaker 1>on Amateur Inventors was because inventions it kind of feel

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<v Speaker 1>like one of those truly American things, like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>everybody gets their fifteen seconds of fame, everybody's got a

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<v Speaker 1>novel in them, and everybody probably has a brilliant idea

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<v Speaker 1>for some invention, and whether or not they make money

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<v Speaker 1>off these inventions, we thought it'd be fun to celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>some of that, roll up your sleeves and build something

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<v Speaker 1>in genuity. So go I kicked this off with Robert W.

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<v Speaker 1>Patch's toy truck. And you know I have to say

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<v Speaker 1>the full name. I can't just say Robert or Patch.

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<v Speaker 1>I say Robert W. Patches, Old Patch, Old Patchy. Well, anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>where do you want to go from there? So I

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<v Speaker 1>actually want to talk about a story I heard from

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<v Speaker 1>our old pal Ethan treks and this is forever ago.

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<v Speaker 1>But this is about Frank Dorset, who is the genius

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<v Speaker 1>behind Ego Frozen Waffles. And he started a food company

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<v Speaker 1>from his parents basement, which I do want to point

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<v Speaker 1>out is a good sign note to parents about why

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<v Speaker 1>not to kick your adult kids out of your basement

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<v Speaker 1>because it could pan out. But Ego actually started as

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<v Speaker 1>a mayonnaise company, which is why it was called Ego.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I never put that together. But the mayo

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<v Speaker 1>spread was actually so popular that Dorset and his brothers

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<v Speaker 1>ended up with this extra cash and they decided to

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<v Speaker 1>use it to make a waffle batter that they could

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<v Speaker 1>sell to like local chains. And when they realized the

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<v Speaker 1>market was limited in the region, Dorst a breakd up

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<v Speaker 1>this merry go round motor and he built this giant

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<v Speaker 1>thirty foot whirling machine that you could pour batter into

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<v Speaker 1>and it would prepare a foul in waffles for freezing

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<v Speaker 1>in an hour. I mean, it's remarkable. Yeah. And and

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<v Speaker 1>so the frozen waffles were originally called Froffles. I love

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<v Speaker 1>that name so much, A great name. I honestly hope

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<v Speaker 1>there's a documentary about Frank because he sounds like such

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<v Speaker 1>a wonderful man like according to his obituary, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think I saw in the Seattle Times he had no hobbies.

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<v Speaker 1>He just invented tons of things, like he made this

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<v Speaker 1>some squeegee for cement, and this commercial potato peeler which

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<v Speaker 1>you could use to make potato chips, but it basically

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<v Speaker 1>made it unnecessary to peel potatoes by hand anymore. And

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the time he just spent being a

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<v Speaker 1>great husband and father. But apparently he did have this

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<v Speaker 1>one white whale that he never conquered, like all his life.

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<v Speaker 1>He tried to make a delicious frozen pancake, but it

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<v Speaker 1>just never happened. Oh man, But that is a great story.

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<v Speaker 1>A thousand waffles in an hour, just coming up with

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<v Speaker 1>this motor idea that is really impressive. And I did

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<v Speaker 1>not know that about the mayonnaise company. All right, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna stick with that food theme and talk about

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<v Speaker 1>the invention of one of the greatest snacks of all time. Ango.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking about none other than the cheese puff. And

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<v Speaker 1>I found this story from the Tedium newsletter. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just like Alexander Fleming and penicillin, cheese puffs were really

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<v Speaker 1>more of a discovery than an invention. So I love

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<v Speaker 1>your idea of comparing cheese puffs and penicillan, like those

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<v Speaker 1>things have equal way in human history. But yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, penicillin is more important than you realize. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's as important as the cheese puff, I think. But

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<v Speaker 1>it happened that this little company in Beloit, Wisconsin, where

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<v Speaker 1>they made animal feed, and so basically the company ran

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<v Speaker 1>all their food through this industrial grinder to make the

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<v Speaker 1>food softer for the cows so they could chew it

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<v Speaker 1>more easily, and then they would be able to eke

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<v Speaker 1>out every last bit of corn that they were using.

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<v Speaker 1>And what came out the other end were these thin

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<v Speaker 1>little flakes. So the grinder worked pretty well, but there

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<v Speaker 1>were some kinks and the machine would get stuck, and

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<v Speaker 1>so they were looking for ways to make the process

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit smoother. So what they did was, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes the operators would moisten the corn before it went through,

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<v Speaker 1>but as this one employee, Edward Wilson, noticed, when the

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<v Speaker 1>moist corn hit the heat of the machine, it actually

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<v Speaker 1>puffed up on the other side without any of the kernels. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>since this was going to animals, most people just went

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<v Speaker 1>back to not moistening the corn and running it on through.

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<v Speaker 1>But Wilson decided to try something out. He took some

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<v Speaker 1>of the puff corn home, he seasoned it, and then

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<v Speaker 1>he tried it out to see how it tasted. And

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<v Speaker 1>then the process he created what he called corn curls.

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<v Speaker 1>And these were the predecessor to so many things. We've

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<v Speaker 1>got cheese wizz, cheese doodles, cheetos. I'm just getting so

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<v Speaker 1>hungry thinking about it. But for what it's worth, the

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<v Speaker 1>company decided to change their name to the Adams Corporation,

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<v Speaker 1>and they shifted to being a snack company, and they

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<v Speaker 1>marketed their new cheese puff as quote the Aristocrat of Snacks,

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<v Speaker 1>And I can't think of a more perfect slogan. It

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<v Speaker 1>is so so fancy anyway, So what do you have next, Mago. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>one person I'm grateful for is Chester Greenwood, who, like me,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't like cold weather because his ears used to get

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<v Speaker 1>super cold, and he didn't love wearing hats because he

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<v Speaker 1>was allergic to the wool. Unlike me, though, he loved

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<v Speaker 1>ice skating, so he was looking for any way to

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<v Speaker 1>stay out playing with his friends, and he enlisted his

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<v Speaker 1>grandmother to make him some earmuffs he had are so

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<v Speaker 1>some fur or flannel pads onto a wire that he

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<v Speaker 1>could slap onto his head. And while his friends initially

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<v Speaker 1>mocked him for these ridiculous looking muffs, before long they

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<v Speaker 1>were actually clamoring for them too. And over the years

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<v Speaker 1>he made some improvements that eventually landed him a patent.

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<v Speaker 1>But what's amazing is that this eventually became his family business,

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<v Speaker 1>like within ten years, and this was in the eighteen eighties.

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<v Speaker 1>He built a small factory of about a dozen workers

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<v Speaker 1>and they turned out fifty earmuffs a year, and I

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<v Speaker 1>guess it put Farmington, Maine on the map. Is the

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<v Speaker 1>earmuff capital of the world, the ear muff capital of

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<v Speaker 1>the world. That is unbelievable. Though, fifty thousand a year

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<v Speaker 1>at that time, I can't imagine being able to crank

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<v Speaker 1>that out with what technology they would have had available

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<v Speaker 1>to them. Where do you find the market? It's pretty impressive. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>all right, Well, I wanted to talk for a second

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<v Speaker 1>about Josephine Cochrane, who we've talked about before. She invented

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<v Speaker 1>the dishwasher, and many people may have heard this story

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<v Speaker 1>before that Cochrane was a socialite, who invented the appliance

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<v Speaker 1>out of frustration. But actually it wasn't because she didn't

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<v Speaker 1>like doing the dishes. I mean, the truth is she

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<v Speaker 1>had never really been doing the dishes in the first place.

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<v Speaker 1>She was actually so rich that she had the domestic

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<v Speaker 1>help to do the dishwashing for her. But where her

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<v Speaker 1>frustration came in was that, you know, the people who

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<v Speaker 1>were washing the dishes were often so rough with the

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<v Speaker 1>plates and saucers that they'd often end up chipped. So

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<v Speaker 1>what she did she went out back to the shed

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<v Speaker 1>and this is all true, and she figured out this

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<v Speaker 1>system for washing dishes. Now what's amazing is that she

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<v Speaker 1>came to inventing things naturally. Her dad was a civil engineer,

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<v Speaker 1>her great granddad had all these inventions related to the steamboat,

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<v Speaker 1>and so she came up with a dishwasher that you

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<v Speaker 1>cranked by hand, but then you used hot water to

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<v Speaker 1>clean all these plates carefully. So did this thing take

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<v Speaker 1>off immediately? I mean not really in middle class households,

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<v Speaker 1>because you needed hot water on hand, and these didn't

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<v Speaker 1>function with electricity just yet. But she debuted her dishwasher

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<v Speaker 1>at the Chicago World's Fair, and so it was restaurants

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<v Speaker 1>and these commercial establishments that actually went crazy for it first.

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<v Speaker 1>And then she eventually grew this little company into a

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<v Speaker 1>brand you probably have heard of, and it's called Kitchen Aid.

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<v Speaker 1>That's funny. I didn't know that, so I think Josephine

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<v Speaker 1>and Cochrane would have actually admired my next inventor on

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<v Speaker 1>the list, whose name is Francis Gabe. And according to

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<v Speaker 1>her obituary in the New York Times, frances was sick

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<v Speaker 1>of the fact that quote, house cleaning was a woman's

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<v Speaker 1>chronic lot, so she began to dream of a house

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<v Speaker 1>that would see to its own hygiene, tenderly, washing, rinsing,

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<v Speaker 1>and drying itself at the touch of a button. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a great obituary the Reindeer, But basically, she built

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<v Speaker 1>this car wash in her kitchen, and she'd hide under

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<v Speaker 1>umbrella and then press the fun and suddenly all these

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<v Speaker 1>sprinklers would wash down all the cabinets and counters and

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<v Speaker 1>the floor, and then the second spray, which would miss

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<v Speaker 1>the soapy water, would cover everything, and then a third

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<v Speaker 1>spray would wash it down again, and finally a gigantic

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<v Speaker 1>blow dryer would push warm water across all of the

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<v Speaker 1>surfaces to dry everything off. The whole process took about

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<v Speaker 1>an hour, and apparently the thing worked like a charm.

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<v Speaker 1>Is pretty amazing. That is pretty amazing. And you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>I think somebody stole this idea. I think I remember

0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.480
<v Speaker 1>Tim the tool Man Taylor himself having a kitchen with

0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:34.880
<v Speaker 1>pretty much this exact system. But the thing I always

0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.960
<v Speaker 1>wondered there is the same thing I'm wondering here, and

0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.559
<v Speaker 1>that is where did all the water actually go? So

0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:44.560
<v Speaker 1>she ingeniously had designed these very slightly sloping floors like

0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.240
<v Speaker 1>they were so gentle you couldn't tell, and then there

0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.280
<v Speaker 1>were these greats where the water would get pushed out of.

0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.839
<v Speaker 1>But apparently even that was ingenious because before the water

0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:54.720
<v Speaker 1>was sent to the lawn or the drain or whatever,

0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:58.280
<v Speaker 1>it's cycled through her doghouse where would actually give her

0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.319
<v Speaker 1>dog a shower. My gosh, this is brilliant, Like you

0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.760
<v Speaker 1>just want to see this whole system in action. All right, Well,

0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.679
<v Speaker 1>I've got a slightly different fact about an invention that

0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.000
<v Speaker 1>that might have been almost as brilliant. So I want

0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.520
<v Speaker 1>to talk about slap bracelets. And of course we remember

0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.160
<v Speaker 1>these from the nineties and they've made a comeback recently,

0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.400
<v Speaker 1>as they seemed to every few years. But apparently they

0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:21.600
<v Speaker 1>were the invention of a high school teacher and his

0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:24.680
<v Speaker 1>name was Stuart Anders. Now, Anders was messing around in

0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.680
<v Speaker 1>his father's shop with some steel ribbon and the idea

0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:31.000
<v Speaker 1>literally slapped him on the wrist. This was back in

0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.840
<v Speaker 1>the mid eighties, and over the years he decided to

0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:35.800
<v Speaker 1>put a little bit of fabric on it. He showed

0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.040
<v Speaker 1>it to a friend. That friend happened to be an

0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:40.960
<v Speaker 1>agent for toymakers, and so they were off to the

0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.000
<v Speaker 1>races with a product they called slap wraps. And so

0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.160
<v Speaker 1>the New York Times wrote about this product and called

0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:50.240
<v Speaker 1>it the biggest cheap novelty craze since pet Rocks. Now,

0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.520
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you've heard how slap bracelets were banned from

0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.720
<v Speaker 1>so many schools and other places because they were truly

0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.160
<v Speaker 1>slicing kids hands up. Yeah, they were pretty dangerous him.

0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.560
<v Speaker 1>I think I'd probably cut myself a time or two

0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.000
<v Speaker 1>with them as well. But you know, that wasn't ander

0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.920
<v Speaker 1>slap rap product. And in fact that he and the

0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:11.240
<v Speaker 1>toy company that he had been working with initially delayed

0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.800
<v Speaker 1>the rollout of the product because they wanted to make

0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.959
<v Speaker 1>sure these bracelets were safe for kids. You know, these

0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.160
<v Speaker 1>slap wraps actually changed their product to be able to

0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:23.880
<v Speaker 1>prevent these injuries. But when they started doing something like

0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:27.400
<v Speaker 1>fifteen million dollars in sales each year, you had these

0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:31.319
<v Speaker 1>knockoff toy companies that you know, they smelled opportunity, they

0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.520
<v Speaker 1>rushed their less safe products to market, and those are

0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:37.000
<v Speaker 1>actually the ones that that you know, resulted in killing

0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.480
<v Speaker 1>the craze. I mean, it is so weird to me

0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.679
<v Speaker 1>that you could just like put some fabric on some

0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.760
<v Speaker 1>metal and kids just go wild for it. But I

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:46.880
<v Speaker 1>know the first time I slapped one on my wrist,

0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.079
<v Speaker 1>I just thought it was magic. You know. Well, I

0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:50.920
<v Speaker 1>know we've got two more facts to go, but why

0:13:50.920 --> 0:14:09.040
<v Speaker 1>don't we take a little break first, welcome back to

0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.600
<v Speaker 1>part time Genius who were talking conventions. All right, mego,

0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:14.200
<v Speaker 1>we've each got one fact left, So what's your last

0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:16.400
<v Speaker 1>one going to be? So I'm going to do mine

0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:18.920
<v Speaker 1>on the band aid because I loved the story of

0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:22.680
<v Speaker 1>Earl and Josephine Dixon. So Earle was a Johnson Johnson

0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.240
<v Speaker 1>employee and he had a new bride, Josephine, who was

0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:29.320
<v Speaker 1>apparently super super klutzy every time he'd come home, he'd

0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.760
<v Speaker 1>find she'd hurt herself in some new and different way.

0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.200
<v Speaker 1>Like the story honestly sounds like she had lived in

0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:37.760
<v Speaker 1>like some sort of abusive kitchen, because like she'd burn

0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.520
<v Speaker 1>herself on the stove where she'd like hit herself with

0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.640
<v Speaker 1>a cabinet and end up with this cruise And it

0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 1>was horrible. And while Earl was super sympathetic at first,

0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.640
<v Speaker 1>he got tired of dressing all the wounds every day

0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.960
<v Speaker 1>after work. So he took a long roll of Johnson

0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:54.680
<v Speaker 1>Johnson's surgical tape, and then he cut these squares of

0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.040
<v Speaker 1>gauze which he spaced out evenly along the tape, and

0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.520
<v Speaker 1>then he covered it all in this layer of crinoline

0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.480
<v Speaker 1>so that it wouldn't stick to itself. And the whole

0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:05.920
<v Speaker 1>idea was that any time just being banged yourself up,

0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.200
<v Speaker 1>she could simply snip a bandage off the roll and

0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.320
<v Speaker 1>place it on her new wound. So I've actually heard

0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.240
<v Speaker 1>that part of the story before and and I thought

0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:15.800
<v Speaker 1>it's really wonderful, But I was always curious, like how

0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:19.080
<v Speaker 1>did band aids actually take off? And it turns out,

0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.720
<v Speaker 1>once Johnson and Johnson found out about the product, and

0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.600
<v Speaker 1>started making it themselves. They marketed it by sending free

0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.560
<v Speaker 1>band aids to kids in the Boy Scouts. Like, wherever

0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:30.440
<v Speaker 1>you were in the Boy Scouts, they would send you

0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:32.800
<v Speaker 1>band aids for free for the first year. And with

0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.320
<v Speaker 1>all the scrapes and bruises and cuts, you know that

0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.680
<v Speaker 1>could now quickly be remedied and like conveniently treated. Den

0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.040
<v Speaker 1>leaders were all about the band aids, and they spread

0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:44.480
<v Speaker 1>the word to the rest of America. And that's how

0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.080
<v Speaker 1>band aids became so popular. That is incredible and it

0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:48.840
<v Speaker 1>makes all the sense in the world. But what a

0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.600
<v Speaker 1>brilliant idea initially to do this. Yeah, I think it's

0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:56.040
<v Speaker 1>pretty amazing. So what's your last fact? All right, Well,

0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.560
<v Speaker 1>I thought I could wrap up by celebrating Lillian Gilbreath.

0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:01.680
<v Speaker 1>And now she's famous for a number of things. She

0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.640
<v Speaker 1>was a psychologist and did some pioneering work and efficiency management,

0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:08.400
<v Speaker 1>and then two of her twelve kids actually later wrote

0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.440
<v Speaker 1>about this in a book that you might know called

0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.800
<v Speaker 1>Cheaper by the Dozen. But yeah, so she was also

0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.440
<v Speaker 1>an inventor who led this incredible life. She was the

0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:19.080
<v Speaker 1>first woman to give a commencement address when she graduated

0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.040
<v Speaker 1>from the University of California. She was the first female

0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:26.240
<v Speaker 1>professor and engineering at Purdue, and by interviewing housewives and

0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.680
<v Speaker 1>understanding their needs, she came up with a number of

0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:32.560
<v Speaker 1>incredible household inventions, including I wrote some of these down

0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:36.160
<v Speaker 1>the shelves on the refrigerator door that hold butter and eggs.

0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.960
<v Speaker 1>She also invented the foot pedal that opens garbage cans,

0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:42.760
<v Speaker 1>and for that I cannot thank her enough. I feel

0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:46.240
<v Speaker 1>like I need to write her descendants thank you note.

0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.960
<v Speaker 1>And then she held the patent on the electric can opener.

0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 1>I mean, what's funny to be about all these things

0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.200
<v Speaker 1>is like there are things you just take for granted,

0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.440
<v Speaker 1>Like I just always assumed that like the shells on

0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.640
<v Speaker 1>fridge door has always existed, or like you know, trash

0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.080
<v Speaker 1>can have had foot pedals forever. But it's remarkable that

0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:05.800
<v Speaker 1>they weren't only invented by someone, but that they were

0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:09.520
<v Speaker 1>invented by the same person. It's pretty pretty amazing. So

0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.119
<v Speaker 1>I I think you have to take home with the

0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.040
<v Speaker 1>trophy for discovering that. Well, thank you very much. This

0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:15.720
<v Speaker 1>was a fun one to work on, and thanks as

0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.480
<v Speaker 1>always to Eaves jeff Code for all of her great research.

0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.639
<v Speaker 1>For Today's episode. Thank you guys for listening. We'll be

0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:23.360
<v Speaker 1>back with a full length episode tomorrow