Mary Anderson Quiz: The Windshield Wiper Patent of 1903
This mary anderson quiz clears snow from a streetcar window. Play 10 interactive questions on a 1902 trip to New York, watching a driver open his window to clean the glass, a lever inside the vehicle moving a rubber blade, her 1903 patent, companies saying it had no value, the patent expiring before cars boomed and automatic wipers that followed.
Start Mary Anderson Quiz
🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Year
When did Anderson patent her wiper?
Trip
Which city did Anderson visit when she got the idea?
Saw
What did she observe?
How
How was her wiper operated?
Blade
What material wiped the glass?
Value
How did companies respond to her invention?
Expire
What happened to her patent?
Auto
What came later?
Home
Which US state was Anderson from?
Honor
Which honor did Anderson receive in 2011?
Your score
0/10
Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: When did Anderson patent her wiper?
Answer: 1903
A pioneering patent.
- Q2: Which city did Anderson visit when she got the idea?
Answer: New York City
In winter.
- Q3: What did she observe?
Answer: A streetcar driver opening his window to clear snow
In bad weather.
- Q4: How was her wiper operated?
Answer: With a lever inside the vehicle
Hand-operated.
- Q5: What material wiped the glass?
Answer: Rubber
A rubber blade.
- Q6: How did companies respond to her invention?
Answer: They saw little commercial value
Cars were still rare.
- Q7: What happened to her patent?
Answer: It expired before cars became common
She earned little.
- Q8: What came later?
Answer: Automatic and electric wipers
Built on the idea.
- Q9: Which US state was Anderson from?
Answer: Alabama
Birmingham area.
- Q10: Which honor did Anderson receive in 2011?
Answer: National Inventors Hall of Fame
Posthumously.
Clearing the View
On a winter trip to New York City around 1902, Mary Anderson of Alabama watched a streetcar driver repeatedly open his window to clear snow from the glass. She designed a device to solve the problem.
Her wiper was operated by a lever inside the vehicle, swinging an arm with a rubber blade across the glass. She received a patent in 1903, but companies saw little commercial value, since cars were still rare.
Her patent expired before cars became common, so she earned little from it. Automatic and electric wipers followed, building on the idea. Anderson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011.
What This Quiz Teaches
Tech history fans will enjoy these questions.
- Where she got the idea
- How her wiper worked
- How companies reacted
- What happened to the patent
- How she is honored
Did You Know?
- Wipers became standard on cars by the 1920s.
- Charlotte Bridgwood designed an automatic wiper.
- Rain sensors now trigger wipers.
- Intermittent wipers came much later.
- Her idea is used on every car today.
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