Windshield Wipers were invented by…..a woman!
With all the cold and wet weather we have been experiencing, it seems appropriate that I stumbled across this little fact just the other day. I was driving through heavy showers of rain interspersed by fog and so was alternating between fast and slow wiper speeds. With the low visibility, it struck me that without wipers I wouldn’t have been able to drive safely, as the edge of the road and hard shoulder was at times indiscernible.
Whatever did drivers do prior to windscreen wipers? Whoever thought to invent such a contraption? Automobiles back in the 1900’s were open fronted, having no windscreens, however, the street trolley cars had panes of glass in a double front window where the motorman who drove trolley would stand. He’d open these up to clear the sleet, allowing for better visibility.
Mary Anderson, visiting New York from Alabama noted this when travelling on one such trolley car, and upon returning home she hired a designer for a hand-operated device to keep the windshield clear. She then contracted a local company to produce a working model which was patented in 1903 for 17 years. Her model consisted of a hand-operated lever inside the vehicle that controlled a rubber blade on the outside of the windshield. The lever could be operated to make the spring-loaded arm move back and forth across the windshield. A counterweight was used to ensure the wiper kept contact with the window when the device was used. Although similar products had been made earlier, this model was the first to work effectively.
Surprisingly, in 1905 when Anderson tried to sell the rights to her invention to a well-known Canadian firm, her application was rejected as being considered commercially unviable. When her patent expired in 1920 the automobile business had undertaken huge growth and windshield wipers using Mary Anderson’s design become standard equipment, with Cadillac becoming the first manufacturer to adopt them on all models in 1922.
So there you are, a woman invented this very practical device which we’d all be at a loss without. And of course, the ultimate in accessories for this essential device is the rubber ‘blade’, and what better than the Bosch brand wiper blade. As far as replacement blades go, there are many options but spending a little more will get you a premium product that lasts longer and does the job better. Who else can’t stand the grating sound a cheap set make on the windscreen? Prevent this and poor wiping, scratchy, smearing, bad performance by purchasing a quality set when you have to replace yours next time around.
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