Women Invent!: Two Centuries of Discoveries That Have Shaped Our World
Acknowledgments I woULD LIKE to thank Carolyn See and Dr Joseph Lifschutz who were both significant in my development as a writer In the course of writing this book I received invaluable help and assistance from many people and extend a sincere thank you to all of them In par ticular I want to thank Helen Haskell and Billie Connor of the Los Angeles Public Library Patent Department Ruth Nyblod of the U S Patent and Trademark Office and patent lawyer Charles Schroeder I greatly benefitted from the suggestions of several classroom teach ers who make invention an integral part of their curriculum Sue Windham Nancy Gerardy Pat Bradel and Nick Frankovits Douglas Scharmann Rachelle Romberg and Lillian Ross provided extensive and invaluable suggestions I am also grateful to my young readers Nicole Hutchinson and Zane Welte and to their mothers Pamela Hutchinson and Patsy Casey for encouraging them to help me Thanks also to my friends Rachel Clark's weekly encouragement helped tremendously The support of Mary Rose and Stephen O Leary Susan Brooke Scotty Embree Donvieve Richie Bob and Deanna Drake and Louise and Bernice Sheehy sustained me And many thanks go to Jimmy and Alma Casey who fed me when I stag gered in from the library to Bill Welte Mike and Tina Casey Kevin and Bobbie Casey and Katie Casey and Russ Anderson for their interest and to Brian Jason Eric Carlos Mikie Nathan Karissa and Micah Casey Carson Welte and Christine Anderson for being their wonderful selves Sincere thanks to my editor Cynthia Sherry for her helpful com ments and open mindedness and for her sunny disposition Last but most important I would like to thank all the inventors their families and the companies affiliated with their inventions for their generous cooperation and
Introduction hen I was a girl the comic book character I most enjoyed was the inventor Gyro Gearloose He was so enthusiastic about having ideas and each time he got a new one a lightbulb would appear That was the way I too felt when I got an idea I liked that feeling I still do As I grew older my fascination with inventors and inventing con tinued When my friend Laurel Gaiser s father Conrad invented Bounce the antistatic tissue I was thrilled to know an actual inven tor My interest in his thought process led me to wonder about the stories behind the invention of other household items and eventually to write a magazine article about women inventors As part of my research I spoke with many inventors Each told an engrossing story about the discovery of her invention As soon as I finished hearing one tale I wanted to hear another Then I began reading about the lives of eighteenth and nineteenth century inven tors Since I couldn't talk with them I read their patents While many history books depict women as just being around and many books on inventors give little evidence of women's work the patent records reveal a different story In her 1917 patent May
