Guerrilla Girls On Tour is an anonymous theatre collective whose mission is to create new plays that dramatize women’s history and address the current state of women in the performing arts and beyond. Our performances use comedic, physical, and vaudevillian-like techniques to prove that feminists are funny. In order to put the focus of our work entirely on the issues we address each member performs under the name of a dead woman artist and wears a gorilla mask to conceal her true identity.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Mothers of Invention

In honor of International Women’s Day today, (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) and this year’s UN theme - Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.” - here is Guerrilla Girls On Tour’s! list of some of the most important inventions by women.


The
hand-crank ice cream freezer - patented in 1843 by Nancy Johnson.

The commercial oven - Emeline Hart, a member of the Shaker community, 1876.

The vacuum canning process - Amanda Theodosia Jones.

The clothes wringer – Ellen Eglin who sold her patent rights for a pittance rather than market it herself because she thought that if people knew a black woman invented the wringer, white women would not use it.

The modern intravenous drip - Justine Wanger.

The trash can with a step-on lever to open the lid - Lillian Gilbreth (shown in photo), best known for designing a model kitchen for the handicapped and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineers.

The dishwasher - Josephine Cochran, 1889.

The rotary washing machine - Margaret Plunkett Colvin, 1871.

The flat-bottomed paper bag - Martha Knight, 1870. She was also the

the first woman in the U.S. to fight and win a patent suit.

Liquid paper - Bette Nesmith Graham

You go girls!

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