Remembering Women and Torpedoes

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

I hope you remembered International Woman’s Day Friday. It was a time to celebrate the achievements of women.

In the automotive world, more women were involved in creating the automobile than are recognized now. For example, there are 13 female inductees in the Inventors Hall of Fame. Only three for car-related inventions like the heater and windshield wiper.

There’s one, though, that had a part to play in how you might be watching me right now. Actress Hedy Lamarr was born in Vienna in 1914, escaped the Nazis and ended up a Hollywood star. She may be best known for “Ziegfeld Girl” in 1941 and “Samson and Delilah” in 1949.

But along the way Lamarr loved to tinker and solve problems. In fact, she helped develop a way to track torpedoes during World War II. The technology that manipulated radio frequencies was used in the creation of WiFi in the 1990s.

Lamarr’s contributions led to her being inducted into the Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2014,

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict detail’s Lamarr’s life. You should take the time to read it.

Peace.