The History Of The Windshield Wiper: The Invention Nobody Wanted

Who invented the windshield wiper? Not one person, but a whole line of stubborn inventors. This documentary tells the full history of the windshield wiper, from Mary Anderson's 1903 patent to the intermittent wiper and Robert Kearns' decades-long patent fight with Ford and Chrysler. It starts in New York in the early 1900s, as the story has been told ever since: a streetcar driver who has to stop and clear snow from his window by hand. Mary Anderson of Birmingham, Alabama, patents a lever-operated "Window-Cleaning Device" in 1903, offers it to a Montreal firm, and is told it has too little commercial value. Her patent expires in 1920, just as cars finally need it. She was not alone. Apjohn and Douglass filed in the same year, Prince Heinrich of Prussia patented a hand-moved wiper in 1908, Gladstone Adams built one after a snowy FA Cup trip, and a Honolulu dentist and an actress-turned-manufacturer patented motor-driven cleaners. In this video: • Mary Anderson and the first practical car wiper patent • Early wiper patents in the US, Britain and Germany • Trico, the Rain Rubber and the vacuum wiper that stalled on every hill • Bosch and the rise of the electric windshield wiper • FMVSS 104 and why wipers must work regardless of engine load • Robert Kearns and the electronic intermittent wiper • The Ford and Chrysler patent trials and the "flash of genius" test • Rain sensors, flat blades and the modern wiper Kearns did not invent the idea of a wiper that pauses. Others, including Lucas in Britain, got there first. What he patented was one electronic way of doing it, and juries found that Ford and Chrysler had infringed those patents. This is the story of that fight, told from court records and contemporary reporting. Part of our series on the history of car parts. Watch our episodes on the windshield, the seatbelt, headlights and the airbag next. Subscribe for more forgotten stories behind everyday car parts. FOOTAGE CREDITS CC BY via Wikimedia Commons: 155LA3; Antti Makkonen; Biswarup Ganguly; Chris Cafiero; Dave Parker; dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada; Don O'Brien from Piketon, Ohio, United States; Dwight Burdette; Fumikas Sagisavas; G. Edward Johnson; GPS 56 from New Zealand; Iain Cameron; Jan Šefran; Kansas City, Mo. City Communications; Kathy Jantz; Marnanel; Missvain; Muhammad Basheer; Peter Trimming; Shixart1985; Vjdeep; VulcanSphere; YouTube user Editor; Сарапулов. CC BY via Internet Archive: digital meals; digital.meals; Jeffrey Beach; Matthew Paul Argall; Nathan C. Gough; PublicResourceOrg; Wendy Cutler. CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons: A7N8X; Abdel-Moneim Mustafa; Andre Carrotflower; BenFrantzDale; Calreyn88; Campani / Bukk; Consumer Reports, Inc.; CZmarlin (Christopher Ziemnowicz, Rambler Ranch collection, Elizabeth, Colorado); DagosNavy; Dale Mahalko; daSupremo; Downtowngal; Elise240SX; Grešla; Jacek Rużyczka; Joegoodfriend; Joetography LLC; Johannes Maximilian; Jörg Zägel; Karl Gruber; Kritzolina; L.Kenzel; Lklundin / Kvng; Maoileann; Mathieu Landretti; Mosborne01; Nesnad; Nikita Yang; Ogren Motor Car Company; Polygoon-Profilti / Beeld en Geluid; Richard Symonds; Shorenster; Sleepdre; Stephen Foskett; Sumit Surai; Thilo Parg; Tobias Hanf; Travis wilding; Trekphiler; Visitor7. CC BY-SA via Internet Archive: Christian Einfeldt. Licenses: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. CC BY-SA material is shared under the same license. Full credits with a direct link to every file are in the pinned comment. #windshieldwiper #carhistory #inventionhistory