In 1902, a lady was driving through New York City in a streetcar.

It was snowing outside, and the weather was a little harsh.

That snowy day, she observed that the drivers have to get out continuously and clean the windshield.

This defeated the purpose of having closed vehicles, as the windows would have to be opened every time to clean, and the people inside would catch a cold or get wet during the rains.

Businesses also suffered huge losses due to the time lost in the process.

While everyone else got used to this routine, it did not make sense to the lady. She thought this was a problem. It needed to be solved.

She asked herself a simple question :

‘”What if there was some sort of blade that could wipe off the windshield without making the driver get out of the car?”

That lady was Mary Anderson, the inventor of the windshield wiper.

It is an invention that all of us take for granted today, but is a great example of where design thinking can take humanity.

Just a little extra thought, can lead us to places that seem impossible today.

Design is everywhere 🙂