1 . Inventions born out of love

John W. Hammes, an architect from Wisconsin, created the InSinkErator in 1935. Hammes got the idea after watching his wife spend time wrapping food in newspaper and throwing it out. The InSinkErator is a device, put under a kitchen sink between the sink’s drain (排水管)and the trap. The disposal unit tears food waste into pieces small enough—generally less than 2 mm in diameter(直径) —to pass through the drains.

William Stewart Halsted, M. D. (1852-1922)was a well-known US surgeon who is often called the “Father of Modern Surgery”. Known for his strict insistence to sterile(无菌的) working conditions, Halsted invented rubber gloves that allowed his colleagues to lessen the transfer of germs(细菌)during their work. Yet the initial reason why he created them is more romantic than you would think. Knowing Caroline, a nurse, suffered from a skin diseuse during her work, Halsted invented the gloves especially for her and gave them to her as a gift after their marriage.

When Josephine Knight Dickson from New Jersey kept cutting herself while cooking for her family in the 1920s, her husband, Earle Dickson, stepped in. Dickson, a cotton buyer for Johnson &Johnson, according to the company’s website, decided to invent a temporary adhesive (有黏性的) bandage for his wife. His creation became the Band-Aid we all know and use today.

Maura Horton’s husband, Don, was a football coach who had Parkinson’s disease. One day, after Don struggled to button his shirt before a game, Horton decided there needed to be a better clothing option for people suffering from a disability. So, Horton designed a shirt with magnetic buttons in 2012. These buttons will finally allow everyone to dress and undress themselves efficiently.