7 things you might not know were invented by women

Mary Anderson, a real estate developer born in Alabama, wasn't even a driver. During her visit to New York city in 1903, she was surprised to find out how much of a struggle it was for a trolley car driver to see through the windshield in a snowy day. He would get out and try to clean it off all the time, which caused a lot of delays. This got Anderson thinking: what if there was a device that could help the drivers?

When Mary got home, she hired a designer and started working on this. The same year, she was granted a 17-year patent for a windshield wiper. It consisted of a rubber blade that was operated by the lever inside the vehicle. Anderson's invention became the first one of the kind to be effective.

Before Margaret's 1868 invention, paper bags used to look more like envelopes. Working for the Columbia Paper Bag Company, she built a wooden prototype of the machine that folded and glued paper to form paper bags similar to those we use today.

A man named Charles Annan tried to steal Knight's invention: he saw the concept, built the similar machine and even patented it. In 1871, Margaret filed a lawsuit and was awarded the patent. Except that, Margaret invented many other useful devices, including a numbering machine, lid removing pliers, and a window frame and sash.

Cochrane built the first commercially viable dishwasher with the help of the mechanic George Butters. The machine used the water pressure to clean the dishes, which marked it out from other modern dishwasher prototypes. Cochrane received the patent in 1886 and presented the machine at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Many companies were interested in it, and by 1950s the dishwasher became a common household item in the US.

Tabitha Babbitt was a member of the Shaker community and an inventor. In those days, workers used the two-man whipsaw which was poorly performing – it only cut when pulled forward. Tabitha wanted to help the community, so, in 1813, she made a saw and attached it to her spinning wheel. She never patented the circular saw, but it was actively used by others since then.

Elizabeth Magie, an American game designer and Georgist, invented 'The Landlord's Game' which became popular among her friends in Maryland. In 1904, she was granted a patent. 'The Landlord's Game' was meant to spread the economic theory of Georgism and teach the players the dangers of land monopolism.

Four versions of the game published by Magie were a success with left-wing academics, but only the monopolistic version became popular among the general public. 30 years later, an inventor named Charles Darrow altered the board and sold his version to Parker Brothers. They bought Magie's patent for the game for $500 and no royalties. They promised to continue to produce Magie's anti-monopolist original game, but never did.

Bette Nesmith Graham invented this helpful substance in her kitchen. She used it herself to cover her typos made on a typewriter. Graham spent several years improving the formula and patented it in 1958. In 1979, she sold her company to Gillette for $47.5 million!

In 1832, Villepreux-Power, a naturalist from France, was studying the paper nautilus: she wanted to prove that it grows its own shells instead of taking them from other creatures. To observe the organisms and find the proof, she designed the first aquarium. Villepreux-Power was later referred to as "Mother of Aquariophily."