How This Seductive Actress Became An Inventor Who Changed The World
Back in the day when women are only seen as entertainers who should be pleasing to the eyes, it was difficult to make a mark in the technological world. And when a war was filled with men who battle it out on the field, only few women rise up and create a lasting impact on the entire world.
Who would have thought that during the World War II, a Hollywood actress would invent things that are still used as basis to developing today’s new technology.
Source: Times of Israel
Hedy Lamarr was famous for her roles in Hollywood. With her striking physical beauty and seductive aura, she has captured the eyes and hearts of the public. After fleeing from her husband and fled to Paris, she signed a contract with MGM head Louis B. Mayer to be a Hollywood film star from the late 1930s to the 1950s. As soon as she arrived in Hollywood, she was dubbed as the “world’s most beautiful woman.” Throughout her film career, she has often been typecast as the “archetypal glamorous seductress of exotic origin”.
On days when she found herself bored with her work, who would have thought that she would invent things to relieve herself from boredom. Come to think of it, she had no training at all. She just taught herself.
One of the first inventions she did was a tablet that dissolved in water to become a carbonated drink. Despite it being unsuccessful, she went on to invent more. One of them was the improved traffic stoplight.
To help during the war, Lamar designed a jam-proof radio guidance system for torpedoes. George Antheil, the one who helped her design new frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum technology, realized that their invention would continually change the radio signals sent to the torpedo. She later had their invention patented as “Secret Communication System” in 1942. This technology was used as basis for wireless communication. This includes bluetooth and GPS. Through her invention, we eventually got our WiFi and even inflight WiFi.
So without her, you really wouldn’t be able to enjoy your Facebook on your phones!
Lamar received the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award. She was also posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
She just proved that women can be more than just pretty faces.
