In 1843, before freezers were even invented, Nancy Johnson made sure that people could “scream” for this dessert by creating the:

In 1872, Josephine Cochran created the best prototype of this fairly common kitchen appliance, that can really lend a hand after a dinner party.

Apartment fires were a lot more deadly before this invention by Anna Connelly, which have also become a critical component in how spaces are designed.

You may use this item everyday, thanks to Melitta Benz who in 1908 wanted to make getting a daily dose of caffeine more convenient.

In 1917 Ida Forbes patented this, which gets a lot of use in a typical day, and is especially important now while washing our hands for 20 seconds!

In 1950 when her invention was called “unnecessary and impractical” by the male manufacturers she pitched them to, Marion Donovan took matters into her own hands and sold these straight to Saks Fifth Avenue.

With New York City police being notoriously slow to respond to calls in her neighborhood, Marie Van Brittan Brown took matters into her own hands and created this in 1969.

The International Space Station relies on solar power, but for a third of its rotation, the earth blocks the sun's rays. So in 1980, Olga Gonzalez-Sanabria created this to keep the International Space Station powered up during that dark portion of its rotation.