5female inventors

you should thank!

B1-B2
before watching
learn new vocabulary
and answer these questions:
Do you know any inventors who have made a
significant impact on your life
How do you think the world would be different if these
women had not invented these items
Have you ever had a creative idea that you wish you
had patented
Which of these inventions do you think has had the
biggest impact on society?

watch the video

and say True / False / Not stated
Melita Bentz invented the tea filter.

Bentz created the coffee filter by poking holes in a paper

sheet over a brass pot.

Graham was a secretary in the 60s when she started using

white paint to cover up her typos.

Joyner was the first African American woman to graduate

from America's first beauty academy.

In 1902, Anderson saw a New York City driver having

trouble keeping his windshield clear of rain.

The sanitary belt provided women with a better option for

managing their periods, although not as comfortable as
modern pads with wings.

The bathroom tissue holder was invented by a man.

 script
You can thank these five women for making your life so easy. Next time you're
trying to stay awake in a meeting, remember Melita Bentz, inventor of the
coffee filter. Frustrated by heavy espresso machines or percolators, Bentz
took a thin sheet of paper, set it over a brass pot, and poked holes in it to let
the coffee drain through. And a smoother, less bitter brew was born. Cool
beans, Bentz. 

Betty Nesbeth Graham is officially the patron saint of bad spellers everywhere,
thanks to her invention, correction fluid. Graham was a secretary in the early
50s when she started using white paint to cover up her typos. She hid this from
her bosses for several years before going public in 1956. Her product, Mistake
Out, is a staple office supply today. Actually, no. Can we do that again? Today
it's called liquid paper. Oh, and her son is Mike Nesbeth from the Monkees. You
can thank her for that too. 

Joyner was the first African American woman to graduate from America's first
beauty academy. She experimented with paper rods that were commonly used
for cooking pot roasts. She figured these same methods would also work for
curling or straightening hair. And they actually did. When you need hair
inspiration, don't look at Pinterest. Look at your kitchen. 

Ice Road truckers Storm Chasers and the Movie Twister owe a huge debt to
Mary Anderson, inventor of the windshield wiper. In 1902, Anderson saw a New
York City driver having trouble keeping his windshield clear of snow. Instead of
pushing him into a ditch like other New Yorkers, she decided to create an
automatic windshield wiper blade. Cadillac adopted the use of the windshield
wipers in 1922, a full two years after her patent expired. Anderson never made
any money off of her invention. So ironically, she could never make it rain. 

Mary Beatrice Kenner is the reason why your bathroom doesn't look like a
horror movie. Kenner invented both a sanitary belt in 1956 and a bathroom
tissue holder in 1982. The sanitary belt gave women a better alternative for
handling their periods, even if it wasn't as comfortable as our modern cortex
with wings. And as for the bathroom tissue holder, it just goes to show that it
took a man to invent a toilet paper roll, but it took a woman to actually put it
somewhere other than the floor. Now if we could only agree on that whole
overhand underhand thing. 

So next time you're driving a car, fixing a typo, or you know, sitting on the john
while drinking your morning joe, just remember the women who made your life
so easy. And you know, call your mom too. I'm Kenner, and I'll see you next time.