Windshield Wipers

The first mechanical windshield wipers had to be operated by hand! Either the driver or a passenger had to work a crank to make the wipers go back and forth. Mary Anderson, from New York City, was awarded a patent in 1903 for a window cleaning device. Once the invention was protected by patent, she tried to interest companies into producing the device. No one was interested, so Mary put the patent in a drawer and eventually it expired.

During a trip to New York City, Mary Anderson noticed that streetcar drivers had to open the windows of their cars when it rained in order to see, as a solution she invented a swinging arm device with a rubber blade that was operated by the driver from within the vehicle via a lever. The windsheld wipers became standard equipment on all American cars by 1916.