Any resemblance to a boring history class is purely coincidental!
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Lillian Gilbreth inspired us. After talking about her life and accomplishments, we thought it was high time to introduce you to four more problem-solving women whose inventions we use every day: Josephine Cochrane, Melitta Bentz, Mary Phelps Jacobs and Hedy Lamarr.
Chapter One: The Dishwasher
Josephine Cochrane was tired of her china being chipped during hand washing…so she invented the modern dishwasher and was granted a patent for it in 1886! 
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Lillian Gilbreth should be remembered for any of her life accomplishments: psychologist, industrial engineer, author, inventor, and pioneer in the field of industrial psychology. From her collection of degrees to her equal partnership marriage to her work with Presidents and to the trailblazing example she set for us modern mothers…she should be remembered for a lot more than simply, “the mother on Cheaper by the Dozen”.
Let’s do something about that.
Lillian Gilbreth, circa 1920s, Courtesy Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, (MSP 7, Box 126, Folder 4) Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
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Heeeeere’s your seven word summary: We asked, you responded and we answer.
For the first time in the five years that we have been doing this show we sat down with a couple of glasses of wine to deviate from our normal format and answer some of your questions. We had asked for them and you delivered! From questions about specific episodes to hypothetical situations and research methods to some semi-personal questions…we answered them all. We even revealed some of the names on our extraordinarily long list of future subjects and did a really bad job of keeping our next subject secret. (In vino veritas and all)
We thought that this cocktail party chatter was a perfect way to give our new audio recording system the proper welcome that it deserves. Isn’t it pretty?
Ooooh!
Ahhhhh! (Cool lamp in both of these shots)
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When we left Dorothy Parker in Part One she was hanging on tenuously at best. Her marriage to Eddie Parker was over, her relationship with George MacArthur was over and the fall-out somewhat stabilized and her suicide attempt was unsuccessful. Professionally she was cobbling together a career as a freelance writer but powered by a steady diet of alcohol she was dancing on the edge.
It was the wild 20s, afterall. (No, this isn’t Dorothy, but you knew that)
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She gave us fabulous quotes like, “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses” and “Brevity is the soul of lingerie,” but Dorothy Parker’s life wasn’t all wit and snark. Behind those flip one liners there was a very complex woman who lead a full life far beyond the banter of the Algonquin Round Table.
How complex was she and how full was her life? It’s going to take two episodes, that’s how much. (It’s okay, we were a little surprised, too.)
It was a dark and stormy night (what? It was!) when Dorothy Rothschild was born in West End, New Jersey at her family’s summer house on August 22, 1893. Her father Henry had fallen in love and married the girl next door, Eliza, and the pair had three children before Dorothy came along. They lived fairly affluently in New York; life as a Rothschild (not those Rothschilds) was very comfortable. (more…)
