March is Women’s History Month, a time in which we recognize and honor the countless women who have bettered our world, our country, and our own communities. It’s a month filled with celebrations; demonstrations; and yellow mimosas, the flower that came to represent International Women’s Day.
Throughout history, women have had to face many challenges because of their gender. Often, they weren’t credited for their inventions; were forced to write under a male pen name; and faced numerous other hurdles, such as sex discrimination and unequal pay. But they persevered, altering our lives forever. In fact, what would a world without women look like? Or perhaps, to start with, what would a simple morning without women look like?
Imagine this:
It’s a Monday morning. You wake up early because you have work. You eat breakfast and have a cup of much-needed coffee. But wait. Your mug has coffee grounds in it because there is no filter. You accidentally crunch a few bitter clumps, your face twisting. Coffee filters were invented by Melitta Bentz.
You’re running late for work because you had to iron your dress shirt for work but the sleeves are creased even after you went over them a thousand times. You have an important meeting today that you wanted to look good for but you dejectedly decide that the wrinkled sleeves will have to do. The modern ironing board was invented by Sarah Boone.
As you’re putting on your shoes, you sigh, remembering your favorite mug and how the coffee grounds stained it the last time you left them in for too long. You roll back your sleeves over the sink, getting ready to handwash it. The hot water scalds your hand and you pull back quickly, dropping your favorite mug on the floor and watching as it shatters into a million tiny pieces. The automatic dishwasher was invented by Josephine Cochrane.
You realize that there’s no way you won’t be late. You don’t want to leave this mess on the floor, scared that you’ll forget and step on it later. You spin the dial of your landline phone, the noise sounding suspiciously similar to a ticking clock. You sit on the chair next to it and wait for someone to pick up, unable to multitask and clean up the ceramic shards. Wireless communication technology was invented by Hedy Lamarr.
No one hears the phone. You slam it back onto its dock and pick up the remains of your favorite mug in the kitchen. You can’t find a small bag so you pile them up into your hands, careful not to cut yourself. When the rickety tower is close to toppling over, you carefully bend down to your trash can. But the trash can is closed, you realize. You forgot to prop it open. When you try to open it with your full hands, the pieces spill out of your hands and back onto the floor. The foot-pedal trash can was invented by Lillian Moller Gilbreth.
You curse, leaving the mess on the floor. The weather is terrible today; torrents of cold rain pelting against your face. You get in your car, shivering as you sit on the cold seat. You hope the coffee you had earlier is enough to keep you warm on your commute to work — you really can’t afford to get sick right now. Car heaters were invented by Margaret A. Wilcox.
The rain cascades in great streams down your windshield, blurring the road in front of you. You squint your eyes, trying to make out the blurry shapes of the cars ahead. You pull into your office’s parking lot, finally, and breathe out a sigh of relief. You made it. The only thing left to do is to park. You pull into an empty spot but freeze instantly. You hit something. A metal shopping car scrapes against the wet concrete, the grating noise like a mocking laugh. It definitely dented your car. It’s not even 9 a.m. yet. Windshield wipers were invented by Mary Anderson.
Doesn’t sound like a world that I would want to live in.
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