20 things you didn't know were invented by women

Erin McDowellMar 9, 2024, 02:15 IST

Ruth Wakefield invented the first chocolate-chip cookie as a result of a baking mistake.digitalreflections/Shutterstock

You might not know that some things you use every day were invented by women.
Nancy Johnson created the first hand-cranked ice-cream maker in 1843.

You might not know that everyday items like the dishwasher and the first version of the Monopoly board game were all created by women.

In honor of International Women's Day, Business Insider looked back at some of the most famous inventions made by women throughout history. Some, like the chocolate chip cookie, were invented by accident. Others, however, were worked on for years before they gained international acclaim.

Here are 20 things you didn't know were invented by women.

Glass aquariums were invented by Jeanne Villepreux-Power in 1832.

Aquarium.Prince Williams/Getty Images

In 1843, Nancy Johnson created the first hand-cranked ice-cream maker.

Strawberry ice cream in ice-cream maker.vm2002/Getty Images

The modern ironing board was invented by Sarah Boone, a 19th-century African American dressmaker.

The modern ironing board revolutionized homemaking.Steven Errico/Getty Images

With the rise of multilevel buildings resulting in deaths from fires, Anna Connelly submitted the idea of exterior fire escapes to the patent office.

Fire escapes are common on New York City buildings.Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Collapsible life rafts, invented by Maria Beasley, revolutionized transatlantic travel safety.

A downed Navy pilot in a life raft waiting for a rescue plane in the South Pacific, April 1944.Horace Bristol/Corbis via Getty Images

Shark repellent was invented by none other than famous American chef Julia Child.

Julia Child invented a shark repellent.Bachrach/Getty Images; wildestanimal/Getty Images

Josephine Cochrane invented the first commercially successful dishwasher in the 1880s.

She patented the "Cochrane Dishwasher" (not pictured) in 1886.simm49/Shutterstock

Alabama native Mary Anderson came up with the idea for windshield wipers when she visited New York City on a snowy day in 1902.

Drivers once had to get out of their cars and manually clear their windshields.PhotoAlto/James Hardy via Getty Images

In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek developed a synthetic fiber that was so strong that it was bulletproof.

Kwolek's fiber is also resistant to tears and extreme temperatures.horkins/Shutterstock

Elizabeth Magie invented "The Landlord's Game" in 1904. It was later copied, and it sold as "Monopoly" 30 years later.

Needless to say, Monopoly is one of the best-known board games of all time.CaseyMartin/Shutterstock

Shirley Ann Jackson's breakthroughs in telecommunications research led to the invention of caller ID and call waiting.

She is now the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.Jim McKnight/AP

Along with colleague George Hitchings, Gertrude Elion developed some of the first drugs for treating major diseases such as leukemia, herpes, and AIDS.

Elion and Hitchings received the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Bettmann/Getty Images

Cotton mill worker Margaret Knight invented the paper bag in 1868, but a man named Charles Annan tried to steal and patent her idea first.

This seemingly simple paper bag involved a legal battle.inxti/Shutterstock

In the early 1900s, Lillian Gilbreth tweaked and designed dozens of inventions that improved people's everyday lives, including the foot-pedal trash can.

One of her most well-known inventions is the foot-pedal trash can.Spiderstock/Getty Images

Grace Murray Hopper helped program the first computers.

Grace Hopper using an early computer.Bettmann/Getty Images

In the early 1990s, Fiona Wood revolutionized medical treatment for burn victims when she created spray-on skin.

Fiona Wood poses inside an operating room.TONY ASHBY/AFP/Getty Images

An accomplished engineer, Dr. Katharine Burr Blodgett made several important contributions to surface chemistry including the invention of non-reflective or "invisible" glass.

Glasses.Shutterstock

An accomplished engineer, Dr. Katharine Burr Blodgett made several important contributions to surface chemistry including the invention of non-reflective or "invisible" glass.

When Marion Donovan invented the disposable diaper, she was initially mocked by the men who dominated the manufacturing industry at the time.

A baby diaper.Getty

Ruth Wakefield invented the first chocolate-chip cookie as a result of a baking mistake.

This vintage Toll House cookies tin was originally made around 1939.digitalreflections/Shutterstock

Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security system in the 1960s.

A photo of two modern security cameras.Jan Kickinger/EyeEm/Getty Images

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20 things you didn't know were invented by women

Glass aquariums were invented by Jeanne Villepreux-Power in 1832.

In 1843, Nancy Johnson created the first hand-cranked ice-cream maker.

The modern ironing board was invented by Sarah Boone, a 19th-century African American dressmaker.

With the rise of multilevel buildings resulting in deaths from fires, Anna Connelly submitted the idea of exterior fire escapes to the patent office.

Collapsible life rafts, invented by Maria Beasley, revolutionized transatlantic travel safety.

Shark repellent was invented by none other than famous American chef Julia Child.

Josephine Cochrane invented the first commercially successful dishwasher in the 1880s.

Alabama native Mary Anderson came up with the idea for windshield wipers when she visited New York City on a snowy day in 1902.

In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek developed a synthetic fiber that was so strong that it was bulletproof.

Elizabeth Magie invented "The Landlord's Game" in 1904. It was later copied, and it sold as "Monopoly" 30 years later.

Shirley Ann Jackson's breakthroughs in telecommunications research led to the invention of caller ID and call waiting.

Along with colleague George Hitchings, Gertrude Elion developed some of the first drugs for treating major diseases such as leukemia, herpes, and AIDS.

Cotton mill worker Margaret Knight invented the paper bag in 1868, but a man named Charles Annan tried to steal and patent her idea first.

In the early 1900s, Lillian Gilbreth tweaked and designed dozens of inventions that improved people's everyday lives, including the foot-pedal trash can.

Grace Murray Hopper helped program the first computers.

In the early 1990s, Fiona Wood revolutionized medical treatment for burn victims when she created spray-on skin.

An accomplished engineer, Dr. Katharine Burr Blodgett made several important contributions to surface chemistry including the invention of non-reflective or "invisible" glass.

When Marion Donovan invented the disposable diaper, she was initially mocked by the men who dominated the manufacturing industry at the time.

Ruth Wakefield invented the first chocolate-chip cookie as a result of a baking mistake.

Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security system in the 1960s.