The Tardis on Tuckey Lane

For Women's History Month, we're honoring Hedy Lamarr - the glamorous movie star from the black-and-white era of film who co-invented a device that helped make possible the development of GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi technology!

Born in Austria in 1914, the mathematically talented Lamarr moved to the US in 1937 to start a Hollywood career. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, she was considered one of cinema's leading ladies and made numerous films; however, her passion for engineering is far less known today. Her interest in inventing was such that she set up an engineering room in her house complete with a drafting table and wall of engineering reference books. With the outbreak of World War II, Lamarr wanted to apply her skills to helping the war effort and, motivated by reports of German U-boats sinking ships in the Atlantic, she began investigating ways to improve torpedo technology.

After Lamar met composer George Antheil, who had been experimenting with automated control of musical instruments, together they hit on the idea of "frequency hopping." At the time, radio-controlled torpedoes could easily be detected and jammed by broadcasting interference at the frequency of the control signal, thereby causing the torpedo to go off course. Frequency hopping essentially served to encrypt the control signal because it was impossible for a target to scan and jam all of the frequencies.

Lamarr and Antheil were granted a patent for their invention on August 11, 1942, but the US Navy wasn't interested in applying their groundbreaking technology until twenty years later when it was used on military ships during a blockade of Cuba in 1962. Lamarr and Antheil's frequency-hopping concept serves as a basis for the spread-spectrum communication technology used in GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. Unfortunately, Lamarr's part in its development has been largely overlooked and her efforts weren't recognized until 1997, when the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave her an award for her technological contributions. Hedy Lamarr passed away in 2000 at the age of 85 and, in 2014, she was as long last inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her invention of a "Secret Communication System" many years ago.

To introduce kids to her incredible story, we recommend the inspiring picture book "Hedy Lamarr's Double Life" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/hedy-lamarr-double-life) and the graphic novel "Hedy Lamarr and a Secret Communications System" for ages 7 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/hedy-lamarr)

For adult readers, Hedy Lamarr's incredible story is told in the exceptional historical fiction novel, "The Only Woman in the Room," at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-only-woman-in-the-room

She is also the subject of an excellent documentary "Bombshell: Hedy Lamarr" at https://amzn.to/32xAHcI -- or stream it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3f0bG1H

For a fun way to celebrate this pioneering inventor, she is among several women of science featured on the "Greatest Women in Science Socks" for teens and adults at https://www.amightygirl.com/greatest-women-in-science-socks

For children's books about more real-life women in engineering and girls who love to invent, visit our new blog post "30 Books About Mighty Girls and Women in Engineering," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=35594

And for science and math games to inspire the next generation of inventors, check out our blog post "50 Science & Math Games for Mighty Girls" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=16714

Happy 82nd birthday to legendary American folk singer, songwriter and activist Joan Baez! During her over 60 years of performing, Baez has released over 30 albums, including her 2018 album "Whistle Down the Wind" which was nominated for that year's Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. Her first three albums, "Joan Baez" (1960), "Joan Baez Vol. 2" (1961), and "Joan Baez in Concert" (1962) were chart toppers that went gold; her hit songs included "Diamonds & Rust" and covers of Phil Ochs' "There but for Fortune" and The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Baez also helped to bring fellow musical legend Bob Dylan, a relative unknown at the time, to the public's attention by inviting him to perform duets with her on stage, including at the influential Newport Folk Festival in 1963.

In addition to her tremendous contributions to music, Baez also has a long-standing reputation as an activist for human rights, environmental, peace and civil rights causes. She was very active in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and participated in many civil rights marches and rallies, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. In the mid- to late-60s, she became deeply involved in the peace movement during the Vietnam War period. Baez also played a major role in the establishment of US division of Amnesty International and took a year off from music in 1972 to organize its expansion to the West Coast. In recent decades, Baez has continued to be actively involved in a wide range of social issues while recording numerous albums and performing widely. Her music remains an inspiration to many as it has been for over two generations.

You can learn more about her latest Grammy-nominated album "Whistle Down the Wind" at https://amzn.to/2LZh0UJ

To introduce your children to the stories of more female artists and musicians, visit our “Creative Arts” book section at http://amgrl.co/2ibkDIQ

For inspiring true stories of girls and women who have worked to make positive change in the world, visit our ‘Activist Biography’ section at http://amgrl.co/2miHQM0

If you’d like to cultivate an interest in the arts in your children, check out our blog post, "Growing Creativity: Arts and Crafts Toys for Mighty Girls" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10465

And, for books to encourage Mighty Girl of all ages to go after their dreams this year, visit our blog post, "Big Dreams for a New Year: 50 Books to Inspire Your Mighty Girl in 2023," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10834

A Mighty Girl wishes you a happy Hanukkah and a joyous holiday with your family and friends! The eight-day festival of lights begins this evening at sunset.

If you'd like to discover new Hanukkah books to share with your children during this year's holiday, in a recent blog post, we showcased 21 of our favorite Mighty Girl Hanukkah stories at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10329

For more seasonal stories, in our special feature on the "Top Mighty Girl Winter Holiday Stories," you can also find books celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, at https://www.amightygirl.com/mighty-girl-picks/top-mighty-girl-winter-holiday-stories

"In the 1940s, an elite team of mathematicians and scientists started working on a project that would carry the U.S. into space, then on to the moon and Mars. They would eventually become NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (or JPL) [in California], but here's what made them so unusual: Many of the people who charted the course to space exploration were women." Their story is told by author Nathalia Holt in her book, 'Rise of the Rocket Girls,' a timely read for this week's Computer Science Education Week!

"'In a time before the digital devices that we're used to today, it was humans that were doing the calculations,' Holt explains. 'And so you needed these teams of people — many of whom were women, especially during World War II — and they were responsible for the math.'... Today, she says, 'There is hardly a mission that you can find in NASA that these women haven't touched.'"

Holt hopes that her book will inspire girls and women of all ages to pursue their interests in science and technology: "My hope is that these women serve as role models, not just for my daughter of course, but for all of the women that are interested in science. It's a difficult time for women in technology right now. In 1984, 37 percent of all bachelor's degrees in computer science were awarded to women, and today that number has dropped to 18 percent. And even for women that are working in science today, it's about half of all women that leave midcareer. So I think these stories are important for inspiring and being role models that are so much needed for women today."

"Rise of the Rocket Girls" is highly recommended for adult readers at https://www.amightygirl.com/rise-of-the-rocket-girls

To introduce kids to more trailblazing women of NASA, we recommend "Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space" for ages 7 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/galaxy-girls) and "Gutsy Girls Go For Science: Astronauts" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/gutsy-girls-astronauts)

For two fun dolls for young space lovers, we recommend the Astrophysicist Doll for ages 3 to 7 (https://www.amightygirl.com/astrophysicist-doll) and the Astronomer Lottie Doll for ages 3 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/stargazer-lottie-doll)

For coding kits and toys to encourage kids' interest in programming at every age, visit the ‘Coding & Robotics' section of our 2022 Holiday Gift Guide at https://www.amightygirl.com/holiday-guide

To listen to Holt's interview on NPR, visit http://n.pr/1Ye6uaE

For Centuries, Her Art Was Forgotten, or Credited to Men. No More. The work of Michaelina Wautier, a 17th-century artist, was long overlooked. She is belatedly gaining recognition as an old master, as the first U.S. show of her work opens in Boston.

On this day in 1975, in a remarkable display of solidarity and determination, Iceland’s women went on strike for equal rights. They refused to go to their jobs, do housework, or perform childcare, all to show the importance of women in their society. Incredibly, 90% of women in Iceland participated in the strike. Of those, 25,000 women -- almost 12% of Iceland’s population at the time -- took to the streets of Reykjavik in a demonstration while other protests were held in towns across the country. The historic strike was called Women’s Day Off and it’s gone down in Icelandic history as the beginning of a dramatic change in the status of women -- and the first step toward Iceland becoming “the world’s most feminist country.”

Although the right of Icelandic women to vote was recognized in 1915, by 1975, there were still only three sitting female Members of Parliament, less than 5%. Across the country, women faced discrimination at work, including lower pay and fewer job opportunities. The progress being made in other Nordic countries, where women held 16 to 23% of parliamentary seats and had more recourse against discrimination, was frustrating women’s right activists in Iceland. A women’s group called the Red Stockings was the first to propose a strike, but it was initially considered too confrontational by many. After the event was renamed the Women’s Day Off and framed in such a way as to show the many ways Iceland’s women contributed to the country, it secured near universal support.

When the day of the protest came, many companies were forced to close for the day; schools and daycares kept their doors shut. Fathers ended up taking their children to work and easy to prepare foods like sausages were sold out in many grocery stores. Meanwhile, women took to the streets to listen to speeches and discuss how they could improve their nation. The majority of men were supportive of the effort: Styrmir Gunnarsson, who was the co-editor of the conservative paper Morgunbladid at the time, said, “I do not think that I have ever supported a strike but I did not see this action as a strike. It was a demand for equal rights… it was a positive event.” He added that "Probably most people underestimated this day's impact at that time -- later both men and women began to realize that it was a watershed."

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir says her life was particularly changed by the Women’s Day Off -- she would go on to become Europe’s first female president in 1980, a move she insists could not have happened without the protest. “What happened that day was the first step for women's emancipation in Iceland," she explained. "It completely paralyzed the country and opened the eyes of many men… Things went back to normal the next day, but with the knowledge that women are as well as men the pillars of society. So many companies and institutions came to a halt and it showed the force and necessity of women -- it completely changed the way of thinking.”

The impact of the changes that this show of power by women helped foster are obvious in Iceland today -- as of 2021, women hold 47% of the seats in parliament and the country has been ranked number one in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum for ten years in a row. For her part, Finnbogadóttir, who served as Iceland’s president for 16 years, will always look back with fondness on that historic day when women stood together: “There was a tremendous power in it all and a great feeling of solidarity and strength among all those women standing on the square in the sunshine.”

For a new book for adult readers about Iceland's extraordinary success with gender equality, we recommend "Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World" at https://www.amightygirl.com/secrets-of-the-sprakkar

To introduce kids to inspiring female leaders from around the world, we recommend the board book "Dream Big" for ages 0 to 3 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dream-big), the picture book "Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World" (https://www.amightygirl.com/shaking-things-up), and the illustrated biography "HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World" for ages 8 to 13 (https://www.amightygirl.com/herstory)

To inspire children and teens with the true stories of girls and women who fought for change throughout history, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

One of our favorite t-shirts features a quote which fits these women perfectly: "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History" -- it's available for all ages at https://www.amightygirl.com/well-behaved-women-history-shirt

And, for more books for children and teens about trailblazing female role models who didn't let social conventions hold them back, visit A Mighty Girl's "Role Model Biography" section at https://www.amightygirl.com/books/history-biography/biography

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