In my continued attempt to start each week with Not Awful News (which, of course, is so much better than so-called Fake News), here is a little slice of inspiration. This viral Twitter post got me looking into the life of silver screen legend Hedy Lamarr, who would have turned 103 earlier this month. The actress was widely considered one of the most beautiful women in the world during her heyday from the 1930s to 1950s. She starred as Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille’s famed “Samson and Delilah” and numerous other hits. But what you probably don’t know (other than the fact that her first name is actually Hedwig), is that she was also a talented inventor and self-taught scientist.
In fact, in 1942 during World War II Hedy along with composer George Antheil invented a “Secret Communication System” to help guide torpedoes that is widely considered to be a precursor to the wireless spread spectrum technology of today that includes Bluetooth, GPS, cell service and wifi. I know, right?
The Navy didn’t apply her work during WWII, but in the 1960s it rediscovered her patent and started applying the technology for military purposes. Decades later, in 1997, her contributions to the field were honored with an Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award.
It’s like the phrase “not just another pretty face” was made for her. Wait, scratch that, it’s like the phrase “not just another pretty face” was made for all women because our society continues to judge us based on our appearance as if we’re just objects to be ogled while men do the important work, but surprise we have brains that work and ideas that can change the world if only you will take us seriously and listen instead of imagining us naked for one goddamn second. And with that, happy Monday, kittens.