Tuesday, March 16, 2021

When Women Were Women

 


During Hollywood's Golden Age, Hedy Lamarr not only was an acclaimed actress, but also a prolific inventor. She streamlined Howard Hughes's airplanes, designed a better stoplight, and then turned her attention to the weapons industry.
Together with pianist George Antheil, Lamarr sought to fix a problem with the radio guidance systems on U.S. Navy torpedos by creating and patenting a radio system that hopped frequencies to avoid hacking and interference. Her invention was significant in aiding the defeat of Germany and Japan.
It was brilliant, but ahead of its time - it was too complicated to go into production until the 1960s.

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