Josephine and the Dish-Washing Machine

Of the tens of thousands of U.S. patents granted in the 19th century, only a small fraction were held by women. One of those women -- Josephine Cochrane -- would change the world by solving a simple household problem. While throwing lavish dinner parties in her gracious home in Shelbyville, Illinois, Cochrane noticed that her fine china was being damaged while being washed. Certainly there was a better way of doing the dishes? Cochrane's extraordinary adventure would lead to places few women are allowed -- into gritty mechanical workshops and the exclusive corridors of big business. Nobody could believe a woman responsible for such a sophisticated mechanical device. In her own words: "I couldn't get men to do the things I wanted in my way until they had tried and failed on their own. They insisted on having their own way with my invention until they convinced themselves that my way was the better." FEATURING: The voice of Beckett Graham from the History Chicks, portraying the actual quotes of Mrs. Cochrane! (Or shouldn't that be Cochran?) an-extraordinary…-washing-machine .html

You can listen to Josephine and the Dish-Washing Machine online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Josephine and the Dish-Washing Machine is an episode from The First: Stories of Inventions and their Consequences by Greg Young.

This episode is 25:57 long.

This episode was published on Apr 21, 2017.

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