- Women own 36 percent of small businesses worldwide. Their aggregate revenue is roughly $1.9 trillion.
- The oldest mother is Rajo Devi, who gave birth to her first child in 2008—at 70 years old.
- As most flowers have meanings, carnations are special on Mother’s Day. Symbolically, receiving a red carnation meant that your mother was alive, and a white one meant she had passed.
- The circular saw, COBOL programming language, life rafts, fire escapes, medical syringes, Monopoly, and Kevlar were all invented by women. Plus…
- In 1942, Hollywood bombshell Hedy Lamarr received a patent for the technology that evolved into wi-fi and bluetooth.
- In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket to hold baby wipes.
- Christie Brinkley received a patent for an educational toy she designed in 1991 that seems to mostly be useful for helping kids learn the alphabet.
- Florence Lawrence began in movies in 1906 and was considered the first ‘movie star.’ In 1914 she invented a turn signal for automobiles. Apparently invention was in her blood… her mother, Charlotte Bridgwood, invented and patented the electric windshield wiper in 1917.
- Mother’s Day was originally called “Mother’s Friendship Day”. It was named in 1868 by Ann Jarvis, who was trying to foster friendship and community among the mothers on both sides of the Civil War. She later protested against the official holiday celebration because she believed it had become too commercialized.