Incredible Things That Were Invented by Women

IN 1943, NANCY JOHNSON CREATED THE FIRST HAND-CRANKED ICE CREAM MAKER.

Johnson’s “artificial freezer” was made up of an outer wooden pail, an inner tin cylinder, and a paddle connected to a crank. To make ice cream, you had to fill the outer pail with crushed ice, fill the inner cylinder with the ice cream mix, and manually crank a handle that churned the mix around.

Her invention was patented on September 9, 1843.