Women in History - The Ultimate Home
The ultimate convenience invention must certainly be woman inventor Frances Gabe’s self-cleaning house. The house, a combination of some 68 time-, labor-, and space-saving mechanisms, makes the concept of housework obsolete.Each of the rooms in the termite-proof, cinder block constructed, self-cleaning house is fitted with a 10-inch, ceiling-mounted cleaning/drying/heating/cooling device. The walls, ceilings, and floors of the house are covered with resin, a liquid that becomes water-proof when hardened. The furniture is made of a water-proof composition, and there are no dust-collecting carpets anywhere in the house. At the push of a sequence of buttons, jets of soapy water wash the entire room. Then, after a rinse, the blower dries up any remaining water that hasn’t run down the sloping floors into a waiting drain.
The sink, shower, toilet, and bathtub all clean themselves. The bookshelves dust themselves while a drain in the fireplace carries away ashes. The clothes closet is also a washer/drier combination. The kitchen cabinet is also a dishwasher; simply pile in soiled dishes, and don’t bother taking them out until they are needed again. Not only is the house of practical appeal to overworked homeowners, but also to physically handicapped people and the elderly.
Frances Gabe (or Frances G. Bateson) was born in 1915 and now resides comfortably in Newberg, Oregon in the prototype of her self-cleaning house. Gabe gained experience in housing design and construction at an early age from working with her architect father. She entered the Girl’s Polytechnic College in Portland, Oregon at age 14 finishing a four-year program in just two years. After World War II, Gabe with her electrical engineer husband started a building repairs business that she ran for more than 45 years.
In addition to her building/inventing credits, Frances Gabe is also an accomplished artist, musician, and mother.
Women in History - Fashion Forward
Fashion designer Gabriele Knecht realized something that clothes makers were neglecting in their clothing designs—that our arms come out of our sides in a slightly forward direction, and we work them in front of our bodies. Knecht’s patented Forward Sleeve design is based on this observation. It lets the arms move freely without shifting the whole garment and allows clothes to drape gracefully on the body.Knecht was born in Germany in 1938 and came to America when she was 10 years old. She studied fashion design, and in 1960, received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Knecht also took courses in physics, cosmology, and other areas of science that may seem unrelated to the fashion industry. Her broadened knowledge, however, helped her understand shapes and methods of pattern design. In 10 years she filled 20 notebooks with sketches, analyzed all the angles that sleeves can take, and made 300 experimental patterns and garments.
Although Knecht had been a successful designer for several New York companies, she felt she had more creative potential. Struggling to start her own business, Knecht met a buyer from Saks Fifth Avenue department store who liked Knecht’s designs. Soon she was creating them exclusively for the store, and they sold well. In 1984 Knecht received the first annual More Award for the best new designer of women’s fashions.
Carol Wior is the woman inventor of the Slimsuit, a swimsuit "guaranteed to take an inch or more off the waist or tummy and to look natural." The secret to a slimmer look in the inner lining that shapes the body in specific areas, hiding bulges and giving a smooth, firm appearance. The Slimsuit comes with a tape measure to prove the claim.
Wior was already a successful designer when she envisioned the new swimsuit. While on vacation in Hawaii, she always seemed to be pulling and tugging on her swimsuit to try to get it to cover properly, all the while trying to hold in her stomach. She realized other women were just as uncomfortable, and began to think of ways to make a better swimsuit. Two years and a hundred trail patterns later, Wior achieved the design she wanted.
Wior began her designing career at only 22 years old in her parents garage in Arcadia, California. With $77 and three sewing machines bought at auction, she made classic, elegant but affordable dresses and delivered them to her customers in an old milk truck. Soon she was selling to major retail stores and was quickly building a multi-million dollar business. At age 23, she was one of the youngest fashion entrepreneurs in Los Angeles.
Women in History - Protecting the Children
When Ann Moore was a Peace Corps volunteer, she observed mothers in French West Africa carrying their babies securely on their backs. She admired the bonding between the African mother and child, and wanted the same closeness when she returned home and had her own baby. Moore and her mother designed a carrier for Moore's daughter similar to those she saw in Togo. Ann Moore and her husband formed a company to make and market the carrier, called the Snugli (patented in 1969). Today babies all over the world are being carried close to their mothers and fathers.
