A River of Greatness

You know that saying; "What a Man can do, a Woman can do better", as bigoted as it may sound, whoever invented it wasn't wrong after all.

Want to know why?

Bette Nesmith Graham was not a very good typist. Still, she worked her way through the secretarial pool to become the Executive Secretary to the Chairman of the Board of the Texas Bank and Trust.

It was the 1950s, and the electric typewriter had just been introduced. Secretaries often found themselves retyping entire pages because of one tiny mistake. She developed the idea of the Liquid Paper (Correction Fluid) after seeing artists correct their mistakes by adding a coat of paint. 

Her invention caught on in the office and her employer fired her for marketing her product in the office. That was good news because Liquid Paper became available worldwide and she eventually became very successful. 

When we think about advancements in computers, we tend to think about Men like Charles Babbage, Alan Turing and Bill Gates.

But it was a Woman, Admiral Grace Murray that came up with the compiler, which translates English commands to computer codes that programmers use. 

The entire software industry is based on this invention. It won’t be out of place to say without this woman, there wouldn’t be any Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

When the first cars were made in early 1900s they did not come with windscreen wipers. When it rained or snowed, the driver had to come out every few minutes to clean the windscreen.  

While the men were busy celebrating their status cars, Mary Anderson, invented the windscreen wiper in 1903 – for the comfort of the Men of course.

In 1946, Stephanie Kwolek, suspended her dream of studying medicine and took a part time job at DuPont because she had no money. She invented Kevlar (a polymer that is as strong as steel). Her invention has been used in the manufacture of skis, radial tires, brake pads, suspension bridge cables, helmets etc. 

But without doubt, the most important use of her invention is in the bulletproof vests soldiers and policemen wear.

Space will not permit us to talk expansively on the following Innovative Women:

a)Heddy Lamarr, who invented the CDMA technology that mobile phones run on.

b) Martha Coston, who perfected what her husband could not finish in signal flares that are used on ships and fireworks.

  

c) Mary Walton, who invented the technique for reducing smoke emission and noise from elevated railways and locomotive chimneys.

d) Letitia Geer, who invented the syringe for medical injections.

The list is endless :).

Apart from innovations, great Men have been known to have strong Women (mother, sister, wife etc) behind them, pushing them forward to achieve greatness.  

George Washington is one of such Men, he was on his way to go fight for Britain as a Navy recruit. It took one look from his Mother to make him jump down from the Ship and he ended up being the Father of USA instead. 

Thomas Edison, one of the World’s greatest Inventors (he invented, the electric light bulb, photography, cinematography and a thousand other inventions) never went to a University. 

All the education he had was what his mother taught him at home. If we are to judge by the results of some graduates, then she did a better job than most Universities would have done. That is the power of womanhood!.
 

You can never forget the impact of Women like Queen Amina of Zaria, who gallantly fought to establish the rule of justice and became the leading queen figure amongst the Hausas; a tribe that hardly recognized the place of Women. Yet she enlarged her territory farther than any other Hausa Ruler. 

It is impossible to forget women like Margaret Ekpo, who took the lead against repressive colonial taxation laws directed at women in what is now celebrated as the Aba Women’s riot of 1929.

All through history we see the power of womanhood boldly displayed, be it in the kitchen or in politics; in the sciences or sports. 

Wherever you turn there is always a Woman at the root of every greatness the World has known. 

Lesson: Despite the fact that these Women lived in an era where they were "voiceless", that did not stop them from creating a better World with their useful innovations . So what's stopping you? 

As Margaret Thatcher, former British PM, once said:

“If you want something said, ask a Man, but if you want something done, ask a Woman” 

Can you remember that Guinness advert that says "there is a drop of greatness in every man"? Well, we can change it a little and say, "There is a river of greatness in every woman".

Happy International Women's Day....WE ROCK!!!!!!! 

 Be Inspired :)