Josephine Garis Cochrane was an independent woman o. the mid-1800s. When she married husband William Cochran, she took his last name but added an “e” to the end. And when she realized no one had yet created a proper automatic dishwasher, she invented one herself!

Josephine led a comfortable life i. Shelbyville, Illinois. William was a successful businessman, and the couple often held dinner parties i. their large home. She even had servants to clean up afterward. But one morning a.... a party, she found some of her good china had gotten chipped. She was so upset, she decided to wash the dishes herself f... then on. It wasn’t long b..... Josephine wondered why no one had invented a machine to do the job and soon she had sketched out the idea that would become the first commercially successful automatic dishwasher.

Her design used water pressure to clean, just as today’s dishwashers do. It had wire compartments f.. the dishes, which fit i... a wheel inside a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel while soapy water sprayed o... the dishes. It was practical, but Josephine had a hard time trying to hire a mechanic to build her machine the way she wanted, instead o. insisting o. building it HIS way. She finally found a man named George Butters to work w..., and the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine was patented i. 1886, three years after her husband died.

Josephine thought her invention would appeal to other housewives, but it was more o. a hit with hotels and restaurants, maybe because it was an expensive appliance f.. a regular family to buy. She opened her own factory i. 1897, and personally sold her machines nearly up u.... her death in 1913. I. 1926, her company was bought b. Hobart, which eventually became the modern appliance giant KitchenAid.

https://kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/meet-the-woman-who-invented-the-automatic-dishwasher/