Brilliant! 16 female inventors and the stories behind

Katja Spitzer introduces us to 16 brilliant female inventors

When a silk cocoon fell into her teacup, Empress Leizu fished it out. She caught it on a delicate thread that felt smooth to the touch. This gave her the idea of spinning and weaving the thread. This is how the wife of the Chinese king Huang Di invented silk 3,000 years before Christ. However, we do not know whether this story is true.

Nor do we know who invented all the useful things that still make our lives comfortable today: forks, knives, spoons, combs, pots, hats, etc. While many well-known inventions were made by men, women had a harder time because of their traditional roles.

But we all know the inventions of these women:

Melitta Bentz and the coffee filter

Sarah Boone and the folding ironing board

Jeanne Villepreux-Power and the aquarium

Mária Telkes and solar energy

Josephine Cochrane and the dishwasher

Käthe Paulus and the foldable parachute

Sarah Goode and the folding bed

Herta Heuwer and the currywurst