Modest Windscreen Wiper blades and how they Developed Over the Years

Every day I hop into my vehicle, switch on the engine, and set off. If it is a hot day, I decide to turn on the air conditioning or put down my convertible roof. On cool days I set the heat system, to ensure I am comfy while driving. When it is raining, snowing or foggy I use my Wiper blades to clear the windshield.

I never generally think of how these things evolved for my comfort, I just assume that vehicles have these features to improve my driving experience. However, as winter approaches, it caused me to reflect upon the Windscreen wipers and what a great invention they are.

I have looked for information on this subject and found that in 1903, when the first windscreens were added to automobiles, an inventor by the name of J H Apjohn came up with the notion of Windscreen wipers in the form of brushes which swept up and down the windshield to clear it. I imagine that the brushes almost certainly caused quite a few scratches to the windshield, so in 1905, when the American inventor, Mary Anderson, patented the swinging arm style of windshield wiper, with a rubber blade, this must have been eagerly accepted by the motor industry.

These early Windscreen wipers called for the driver to move a lever in the car to control the wipers, so the next large step was towards electric Windscreen wipers. A dentist from Hawaii, Dr Ormand Wall, invented the electric wipers in 1917, some 12 years after Mary Anderson’s first Wiper Blades were added to vehicles.

All Windscreen wipers had rubber blades until quite recently. The problems met with these were that owing to changes in temperature, summer heat, winter frosts, the rubber perished and the Wiper blades needed replacing in a comparatively short time period.

Silicone wiper blades are now also to be had and these are less vulnerable to temperature variations than their rubber forerunners. Although the Silicone wiper blades are slightly more expensive than the rubber Windscreen wipers, they frequently come with a guarantee to not rot or split, as can occur with the rubber wipers, and also allege to be able to follow the contours of the windshield better, giving a cleaner sweep.

We require much from these great little inventions. I expect to press or pull or twist at a stick on my steering wheel and get an instant result from the Wiper blades. They are expected to remove dirt and flies from my windshield in the summer. When the roads are muddy, I need the dirt to be cleared from my windshield straight away, to give me clear visibility. If it is icy first thing in the day, I turn on the heater and eagerly turn the Windscreen wipers on to clear the windscreen fast. In winter the thick snow is shown short shrift.

Because of the above I give thanks to the ingenious Mary Anderson, the inventor of Windscreen wipers.I also marvel at the type of mind that could come up with such an invention out of just being faced with a problem. It’s a lesson to us all when we’re facing adversity.