by Sharon Hall | Jan 7, 2019 | Mothers of Invention
She was born Sarah Jacobs to parents Oliver and Harriet Jacobs of Toledo, Ohio in approximately 1855. The family was enumerated in the 1860 Census in Toledo and listed as being of the Mulatto race, and Oliver was a carpenter. By 1870 the family had migrated to Chicago...
by Sharon Hall | Mar 2, 2015 | Mothers of Invention
Melitta Bentz Melitta – does that name sound familiar? Today its namesake’s invention is a coffee machine necessity. If you enjoyed a steaming cup of home-brewed coffee this morning, sans coffee grounds, you have a woman to thank for that. Amalie Auguste...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 17, 2014 | Mothers of Invention
Have you noticed it’s almost Thanksgiving, which means Christmas is just around the corner, which means the baking season is upon us. All of which usually makes me start thinking of what kind of outrageous chocolate chip cookies I’ll bake this year! So a little...
by Sharon Hall | Sep 29, 2014 | Mothers of Invention
Today’s “mother of invention” article features another “parent-friendly” product (last week it was disposable diapers). As you will see, she could also be characterized as a “feisty female”. Patsy O’Connell Sherman was born on September 15, 1930 in Minneapolis,...
by Sharon Hall | Sep 22, 2014 | Mothers of Invention
Parents around the world can thank today’s “mother of invention” every time they pick up a Pampers®, Huggies® or Luvs® to change their little one’s diaper. Although her ideas were considered impractical at the time, they eventually led to the first truly...
by Sharon Hall | Aug 18, 2014 | Mothers of Invention
As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.” In the late 1940’s single mother Bette Nesmith was an executive secretary at Texas Bank and Trust in Dallas. To cover up her typing mistakes she mixed a batch of tempera water-based paint to match the...
