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The "Skirt-supporting-corset" by Catherine Griswold
The invention of the “skirt-supporting corset”, made with cotton and straps that reduced the weight of the corset, supposed a big change in women's fashion, which no longer translated into a painful and constraining feeling and made everyday life and work easier for women during the time where skirts were compulsory. It also put an end to corsetry's harmfulness, which used to reduce lung capacity, produce organ deformities, produce fainting and weaken the ribs and chest muscles. -
The fire escape by Anna Connelly
The precursor to the fire escape invented by Connelly was a basket moved with a pulley and a chain, which caused a lot of incidents during the evacuation of people from fires. They also made access to firefighters impossible. The fire escape created by her made narrow city buildings way safer, impulsing the construction of securer buildings, which led to the growth of major cities in the USA like New York. -
The phonograph by Thomas Edison
The invention of the phonograph allowed people of all different social backgrounds to have access to music. It contributed to the mass distribution of music and the rise of the music industry, a crucial part in people's leisure. It also played a big part in the spread of art and the shaping of musical genres as we know them today. -
The life raft by Maria Beasley
Prior to the 2nd Industrial Revolution, ship sinkings where quite common due to boats' big role in communicating Europe and America. This meant that people who embarked on ship voyages went on with the uncertainity of whether they'd survive or die. With Beasley's invention this was put to an end, making travelling on boat a lot safer. For instance, the life rafts used during the Titanic disaster, where the ones invented by Beasley, and they prevented 700 deaths from happening. -
Mechanical dishwasher by Josephine Cochrane
Prior to the 2nd Industrial Revolution, women's chore of washing the dishes took up a lot of time and supposed a great waste of water. After 1886, the mechanical dishwasher became really popular among housewives due to the big water, time and energy save that it supposed. It also diminished women's exposition to chemicals used in cleaning at the time, such as benzene and turpentine-based soaps. -
Discovery of Radium by Marie & Pierre Curie
The discovery of radium helped to improve the world's precarious medicine and illness treatments. Although it is not used anymore due to both its rarity and its toxicity, it paved the way for a better knowledge and advanced treatments for illnesses like cancer. -
Transatlantic radio signals by Guglielmo Marconi
Transatlantic radio signals established a quick and efficient communication between Europe and America. They reduced the time put into the transmission of messages from months down to some minutes or hours. It improved diplomatic relations between the continents and helped countries like the UK or Netherlands to have better connections with their overseas territories. It was also a very important achievement for sailors, as they could now receive and send messages, improving their safety at sea. -
The airplane by the Wright Brothers
This invention had to be included, as it revolutionized transportation and it still plays a big part in our lifes nowadays. After its creation, it made communications easier and had a big impact on economy, since goods could now be exported quicker and through bigger distances. -
Specialized hair products for African-American hair by Madam C.J. Walker
Despite not seeming as relevant, black people's beautiful and unique hair had been treated with toxic chemicals such as caustic soda up until the launching of Madam C.J. Walker's products. Its creation was also seen as a historical milestone amongst the African-American community, as Walker's products became the first affordable beauty products for black people, who were mostly living in poverty even 50 years after the abolition of slavery. -
Coffee filters by Melitta Bentz
Coffee filters have had two main repercussions: firstly, the improvement of coffee brewing, as they removed unwanted particulates which worsened coffee quality, and secondly, their disposability and quality of being biodegradable, making them completely unharmful for nature. Very ahead of time in my opinion!