If you took a trip to the movie theatres this weekend to see ‘A Star Is Born’ then there is no doubt you are still thinking about every scene from one of the greatest movies of all time. While thousands flocked to instantly download the soundtrack, for many this was not enough and are begging for movie merch.
Twitter has been asking for merch for a while now. As Doreen St. Félix over at The New Yorker tweeted exactly a month ago, “It seems like if ever a film should have merch, ‘A Star Is Born’ is it.”
Well luckily for us, earlier this month Lady Gaga herself answered our prayers. The ‘star’ herself tweeted that merchandise was in stock on the movie’s website. And before you rush to make your purchases, check you are good for it first as they come at a (heavy) price.
For $35 you can get your choice of an Ally T-shirt (cream) or Jackson T-shirt (black), plus a digital copy of the A Star Is Born soundtrack (unless you live outside of the U.S., where the download will not work). Both the Ally and Jackson T-shirts come in small to 2X.
There are four styles of printed tees available and all are inspired by the characters’ development throughout the film. The first shirt in the collection depicts Jackson Maine strumming a guitar, while another, for Gaga’s Ally, is illustrated with birds and squirrel. The other shirts represent the couple’s personality and musical shifts like Jackson Maine’s shirts featuring fictional tour dates and Ally’s digitally primped photos of herself.
Unfortunately, there is a while to wait for these tees, around four to five weeks. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer back-to-back. head back to the theatres or continuously play the soundtrack online to keep you in the ‘A Star Is Born‘ spirit.
40+ Inventions That Shook the World We Can Thank Women For
Not only did the women on this list come up with inventions, improvements and inspiration for future products, but they had to face the oppressive societies they lived in. These women are heroes – take a look at all the ways they and their inventions shook the world.
Hedy Lamarr – Wireless Transmission
The incredible Hedy Lamarr was both a Hollywood actress and a pioneering female inventor. Lamar appeared in 30 films, acting alongside Clark Gable and James Stewart. Born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, Lamarr was also a talented mathematician and engineer.

Amazingly, during World War II, the actress co-created the technology that ultimately led to Wi-Fi. Along with composer George Antheil, Lamarr came up with a wireless transition system that paved the way for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
Olga D. Gonzalez-Sanabria – Space Station Batteries
Puerto-Rican scientist Olga D. Gonzalez-Sanabria is a scientist that developed batteries to be used in the International Space Station. The batteries – officially known as long cycle-life nickel-hydrogen batteries – keeps the Space Station up and running, which is no mean feat.

Gonzalez-Sanabria has a Bachelors and a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering. She made her discovery in the 1980s while working with NASA, and continues to work there today. She is the top ranking Hispanic person at Nasa’s Glenn Research Center.
Sarah Boone – Improvements on the Ironing Board
Sarah Boone is a particularly impressive inventor because as an African American woman, she had to overcome significant discrimination. Boone was actually born into slavery, but went on to invent an updated version of the ironing board.

Boone’s patent – submitted in 1892 – is for a narrow, curved, wooden ironing board. This design made it easier to iron sleeves, and the bodices of women’s garments. Sarah Boone left her birthplace before the American Civil War, and worked as a dressmaker in Connecticut.
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson – Caller ID
A theoretical physicist, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson is who we have to thank for Caller ID and Call Waiting functions. The impressive Jackson is also the first ever African American woman to lead a top ranked research university and receive a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In the 1970s, Jackson invented caller ID and call waiting, and her research has led to various other communication related inventions. These include the portable fax, fiberoptic cables, and solar cells.
Ada Lovelace – Computer Algorithm
The eccentric Lord Byron had many children born outside of wedlock, but only one with his wife, Lady Byron. That child – Ada Lovelace – would go on to create the first computer algorithm. Lovelace’s mother made sure she was instructed in math and logic, so she wouldn’t follow in her father’s supposedly insane footsteps.

Along with fellow mathematician Charles Babbage, Lovelace worked on the Analytical Engine. She was the first to realize the machine could do more than just calculate, making her one of the world’s first computer programmers.
Elizabeth Magie – Monopoly
Ironically, Elizabeth Magie first invented the game Monopoly to illustrate the problems of capitalism. Originally named, “Landlord’s Game,” Magie came up with the game’s rules, and patented it in 1924. It became very popular, but a man named Charles Darrow took the credit, and the Parker Brothers published it as “Monopoly” in 1935.

Magie spoke out against Darrow, pointing out that she spent more money creating the came than she made from it. Magie wasn’t credited with her massive contribution to board game culture until after her death.
Mary Sherman Morgan – Hydyne
While Mary Sherman Morgan was in college studying chemistry, World War II broke out. The US was short of scientists, and she was offered a secret job in a munitions factory. She took it, and then applied for North American Aviation’s Rocketdyne Division when the war ended. The only woman, and one of few without a college degree, she got the job.

Mary Sherman Morgan was the technical lead for the Jupiter missile project, and invented Hydyne, a rocket fuel. Her son wrote a book detailing her amazing life.
Mary Dixon Kies – New Weaving Technique
Way back in 1809, Mary Dixon Kies was the first woman to receive a US patent. Kies’ invention was a new weaving technique that turned straw, silk and thread into beautiful ladies’ hats. This was necessary at the time, because the Napoleonic Wars meant that trade from France and Great Britain was barred.

So, US ladies needed hats, which is where Kies’ invention came in. Interestingly, years earlier, Betsy Metcalf started the American straw hat industry, but chose not to submit a patent because she was a woman.
Stephanie Kwolek – Kevlar
Born to Polish immigrant parents in Pennsylvania, Stephanie Kwolek initially wanted to become a doctor. Instead, she followed her passion for chemistry, and went on to invent super strong material, Kevlar. Five times stronger than steel, Kevlar is used in bulletproof vests, airplanes and cell phones.

In 1964, Stephanie Kwolek was trying to turn a solid polymer into a liquid, but it didn’t work as planned. Upon further inspection, the scientist realized she’d made something incredibly strong. With this invention, Kwolek saved thousands of lives.
Caresse Crosby – the Bra
Born Mary Phelps Jacob, Caresse Crosby, had a colorful life. At 19 years old, the well-off young woman was preparing for a debutante ball and realized her corset didn’t suit her plunging gown. Crosby asked her maid for, “two of my pocket handkerchiefs and some pink ribbon … And bring the needle and thread and some pins.”

Patents had been submitted for bra-like garments previously, and some were in circulation in the US already. However, Crosby submitted a patent in 1914 for her “backless brassiere.”
Grace Hopper – Computer Software
Grace Hopper – also known as “Amazing Grace” – was a computer scientist and a US Navy Admiral. In fact, when she retired from the Navy, she was its oldest serving officer, at 79. With a PhD in mathematics from Yale, Hopper was assigned to work on the Mark 1 computer.

Grace Hopper was at the forefront of computer programming. She invented the compiler – which translated language into code – and invented the terms “bug” and “de-bug.” Ultimately, Grace Hopper revolutionized how we use computers.
Margaret Knight – Paper Bag Making Machine
Margaret “Mattie” Knight was one of the 19th century’s most famous female inventors. While working in a paper bag factory she came up with a machine that made flat bottomed bags. This meant workers wouldn’t have to manually fold and glue the bags.

Knight invented her machine and submitted a patent, but a man argued that he was the machine’s inventor because a woman couldn’t understand “the mechanical complexities.” Thankfully, Knight took him to court, and won. During her life, she invented over 100 machines.
Marion Donovan – Disposable Diapers
Here’s another female-created invention that made life easier for women at the time. In 1946, Marion Donovan took a shower curtain and fashioned it into a waterproof diaper cover. She submitted a patent in 1949, and went on to sell her invention for $1 million.

Prior to Donovan’s invention, diapers were made of cloth, and prone to leakage. The inventor ended up with 20 other patents, always asking herself, “What do I think will help a lot of people and most certainly will help me?”
Bette Nesmith Graham – Liquid Paper
Bette Nesmith Graham was a secretary, and painted store windows for extra cash. Realizing artists don’t erase but cover over their errors, she developed Liquid Paper to use at work, because early typewriters didn’t erase mistakes. Graham kept her invention secret for 5 years, but it became popular with her coworkers.

Bette Nesmith Graham developed her invention further with her son’s chemistry teacher. Eventually, she set up a business from her home, and in 1979 sold to Gillette for $47.5 million.
Patsy Sherman – Scotchgard
When in high school, Patsy Sherman took an aptitude test which told her she should be a housewife. She demanded to take the male test, and the results declared her a future dentist or scientist.

Years later, Sherman – now a chemist – spilled a fluorochemical rubber on an assistant’s shoe, and discovered that it repelled oil, water, and didn’t change the shoe’s color. Shamefully, while the product was being developed, Sherman couldn’t enter the textile mill because of her gender.
Tabitha Babbitt – the Circular Saw
Tabitha Babbitt was part of the Shaker community – a religious group founded in England in 1747, and organized in the US in the 1780s. One day, while watching men use a two person whipsaw, Babbitt suggested using a round blade instead. She made a prototype in 1813, but never submitted a patent.

As a Shaker, Babbitt didn’t patent any of her inventions, which makes it difficult to confirm her exact activities. The Shaker community also credits Babbitt with inventing the spinning wheel head, and false teeth.
Dr. Maria Telkes – Solar Heated Homes
Hungarian-American scientist Dr. Maria Telkes was also known as “the Sun Queen.” Born in Budapest in 1900, Telkes graduated with a PhD in 1924. The scientist and inventor was one of the first people to work on solar thermal storage systems – in other words, solar power.

Throughout her life, Dr. Telkes has continued to innovate in the area of thermal devices. She also invented a mini desalination unit for lifeboats that uses solar power and condensation to collect drinkable water.
Josephine Cochrane – the Dishwasher
Throughout history, many women invented something because they observed a problem in their daily lives. Josephine Cochrane didn’t like how long it took to wash dishes, and commented that “If nobody else is going to invent a dish washing machine, I’ll do it myself!”

Cochrane put a motor inside a copper boiler, creating the first dishwasher to use water pressure. She patented her invention, opened her own factory, and started selling to hotels. Eventually, the company was purchased by KitchenAid; Cochrane is still named as a founder.
Dr. Patricia Bath – the Laserphaco Probe
Patricia Bath was the first African American to work as an ophthalmology resident at New York University, and the first African-American female doctor to receive a patent for medical use. In 1981, Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe – a device used for cataracts surgery.

Patricia Bath’s invention is now used all over the world, improving the lives of millions. Bath also invented community ophthalmology, which increases access to eye care. According to Bath, “The ability to restore sight is the ultimate reward.”
Margaret A. Wilcox – the Car Heater
Next up on our list of female inventors is Margaret Wilcox, who invented the first ever car heater. Wilcox submitted her patent in 1893, and her invention has served as the basis for modern car heaters. Without Margaret, we’d all have freezing fingers while we drove.

Throughout her life, Margaret Wilcox invented several items. She also came up with a combined clothes and dishwasher (interesting), a bake pan, and a heater. Thanks to her car heater, Wilcox is considered a pioneer of the automotive industry.
Marie Van Brittan Brown – Home Security System
African-American woman Marie Van Brittan Brown worked as a nurse, and was concerned about her safety when home alone. Rising crime and slow police rates scared Brown, so she came up with the first home security system. Working with her husband, an electrician, Brown started with a series of peep holes and a wireless, movable camera.

The Browns got a patent in 1969, and Marie was awarded by the National Science Committee. Their original home security system paved the way for all modern systems.
Dr. Ann Tsukamoto – Stem Cell Isolation
A truly incredible and world shaking invention, Dr. Ann Tsukamoto was part of the team that first isolated stem cells. Working alongside colleagues, the scientist made a major breakthrough in cancer research, and has subsequently helped millions of people. Stem cell research helps with transplants, treating cancer, and potentially in treating Alzheimer’s and chronic heart disease.

Dr. Ann Tsukamoto got her PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of California, and is the holder of over seven patents in total.
Maria Beasley – New Life Raft Design
Another prolific female inventor is Maria Beasley, creator of a barrel-making machine, and an improved life raft design. Born in 1847, Maria Beasley ended up with 15 patents in the US, and two in the UK.

While most working women in this time period earned $3 per day, Beasley raked in over $20,000 in one year for her barrel-making machine. Her improved life-raft was fire-proof, compact and safe, compared with the wooden versions used at the time. Despite her great achievements, not much is known about Beasley.
Anna Connelly – Type of Fire Escape
Unfortunately, there’s limited information when it comes to some women on this list. Though we have this picture of Anna Connelly, we don’t know much about her life. What we do know is that Connelly submitted a patent for a type of exterior fire escape in 1887.

Connelly’s design was for multi-story buildings, and included bridges that connect the rooves of buildings. The bridges had railings and open-ends, allowing people to safely escape. It’s possible that current fire escape designs are based on Connelly’s.
Ruth Handler – Barbie
Ruth Handler’s husband, Elliot, and his business partner Harold “Matt” Matson, started Mattel in 1945. They started off making picture frames, and then moved on to toy furniture. Noticing that her daughter, Barbara, liked to dress up paper dolls, Ruth Handler came up with the idea for the Barbie doll.

Basing her design on a German adult figurine, named Lilli, Handler created the 3D plastic doll. While Mattel wasn’t sure at first, they went on to sell over a billion dolls. Handler served as the company’s president.
Jeanne Villepreux-Power – the Aquarium
Up next is Jeanne Villepreux-Power, the first person to invent an aquarium. At only 18 years old, Villepreux left her home and walked to Paris to become a dressmaker. She succeeded, and ended up making Princess Caroline’s wedding dress in 1816. After that, she got married, and moved to Sicily.

While there, Jeanne Villepreux-Power studied marine life, and invented the first aquarium to study the nautilus up close. Known later as the “Mother of Aquariophily,” Villepreux-Power invented three types of aquarium.
Madam C. J. Walker – African-American Hair Products
The incredible Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove, and was the first of her family born free. Like many other African-American women of her time, Walker struggled with scalp issues and hair loss, so she developed her own line of hair products.

Formally uneducated, an orphan at the age of seven, and a widow by the age of 20, Madam C.J. Walker went on to become the first female self-made millionaire in the US. As well as this incredible feat, Walker educated and worked with other women.
Melitta Bentz – the Coffee Filter
German housewife Melitta Bentz wasn’t satisfied with her coffee. It was either over-brewed, or full of coffee grounds, and she decided it could be done better. Experimenting with her son’s exercise book, Bentz took a piece of blotting paper and placed it inside a brass pot. It worked, and she sought a patent for her invention.

By 1909, Bentz was selling hundreds of filters, and by 1928 she employed dozens of people. Now, the coffee company is still run by her grandchildren.
Beulah Louise Henry – Ice-Cream Freezer
Known as “Lady Edison” because of her many inventions, Beulah Louise Henry had 49 patents in total. Henry came up with all sorts of inventions, and many were to improve the lives of women. She invented an ice-cream freezer, a bobbin free sewing machine, and a snap-on parasol that allowed ladies to change the pattern to match their outfit,

Among many other items, Beulah Louise Henry invented continuously attached envelopes, soap filled sponges for children, a hair curler, a can opener, and a doll with color-changing eyes.
Ruth Graves Wakefield – the Chocolate Chip Cookie
Incredibly, at one point in history, there was no such thing as a chocolate chip cookie. Thankfully, because of Ruth Graves Wakefield, we’ve never had to know such a time. Wakefield started off touring and teaching people about food, and eventually purchased the Toll House Inn with her husband. Her cooking became popular, and one day, she took an ice pick to some chocolate, creating chocolate chips.

People went wild for the cookies, and soon Wakefield was inundated with requests from all over the world.
Dr. Virginia Apgar – the Apgar Score
It’s hard to quantify the huge impact Virginia Apgar has had on the world. The doctor was the first female full professor at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and came up with a way to assess newborns. Prior to this, there was no standardized way of checking newborn babies.

Apgar used her name as an acronym, standing for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration. Over fifty years since Apgar created her system, it’s still used to evaluate newborn infants.
Mary Anderson – Windscreen Wipers
Without Mary Anderson’s invention, driving just wouldn’t be the same. The real estate developer and rancher visited New York in 1903 and rode on a trolley car. She observed the driver opening the window and removing the snow with his hands, giving passengers a chill.

Upon returning home to Alabama, Anderson set to work on her design for rubber bladed windscreen wipers. Ridiculously, car companies thought they would distract drivers and she never made a penny from her world changing invention.
Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson – the Ice-Cream Maker
Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson didn’t want to spend hours making ice-cream, so she invented the first hand-crank ice-cream maker. This democratized the dessert, as stores could make it more easily and cheaply. Before, it was a treat for the upper classes, but after Johnson’s invention, it was a treat for everyone.

Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson received her patent in the 1840s, and her design is still used today. The inventor created an appliance with spatulas inside a cylinder, designed to scrape ice crystals from the container’s walls.
Katharine Burr Blodgett – Non-Reflective Glass
World War II was an interesting time for women, as so many men were overseas. This created opportunities for women, many of whom relished the opportunity to get out to work. Katharine Burr Blodgett was the first woman to be awarded a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge, and invented non-reflective glass.

Blodgett’s non-reflective glass is what is currently used in glasses, car windows, and computer screens. At the time, it was used in movie Gone with the Wind, for submarine periscopes and gas masks.
Joy Mangano – Self-Wringing Mop
You may be familiar with inventor Joy Mangano, as she was played by Jennifer Lawrence in 2015 movie Joy. The female inventor, like many before her, used her day to day life as inspiration for a range of household products. Her self-wringing Miracle Mop ended up making $10 million in just one year.

Joy Mangano started inventing as a child, creating a reflective flea collar for dogs. She currently has over 100 patents, and credits her products’ “mass appeal” for their success.
Mary Walton – Railway Noise Reduction System
Mary Walton invented several useful adaptations for 19th century locomotive, industrial and residential chimneys. In 1881, she created a method that reduced pollution by passing emissions through water tanks. She then came up with a noise-reduction system for trains after hearing that Thomas Edison had failed to do so.

Walton experimented with boxes of cotton and sand, and built models of the tracks in her basement. When riding the train for further research, conductors shooed her away. Ultimately, Mary Walton’s invention was sold to the Metropolitan Railroad for $10,000.
Mary A. Delaney – the Retractable Dog Leash
Not much is known about Mary Delaney, the female inventor who submitted a patent for a retractable leading device in 1908. In fact, we couldn’t even track down one image of her. Around this period, there were up to 200,000 stray dogs in New York City, and the vagrant pooches were associated with urban filth.

Delaney’s device was described as “adapted for ladies,” and allowed users to easily adjust its length. Unfortunately, retractable leashes didn’t catch on until the 1970s, when dogs were considered beloved family pets.
Evelyn Berezin – the Word Processor
Here’s yet another woman that made a massive contribution to computing. Born to Jewish immigrant parents, Evelyn Berezin studied physics during World War II. Her first invention was the first ever computerized airline booking system, and she also invented the first computerized banking system. Wow!

In order to make life easier for secretaries, Evelyn Berezin came up with the idea for a word processor in 1968. Knowing that being a woman would limit her in the industry, she founded her own company to sell her products.
Dr. Temple Grandin – Humane Cattle Restraints
The incredible Dr. Temple Grandin is a pioneering inventor, and a significant figure in the autism and neurodiversity communities. Grandin was one of the first adults to disclose she was autistic, and is also a leading animal scientist.

Grandin has created various pieces of humane livestock equipment, including the Double Rail Restrainer Conveyor, used in many meat processing facilities. She has remarked that her photographic memory helps her to notice detail when working with livestock. Grandin also created a system for assessing animal welfare.
Sally Fox – Organic Colored Cotton
Born in California, Sally Fox invented the first species of environmentally friendly colored cotton that could be spun into thread on a machine. Whilst naturally colored cotton had been previously grown before, Fox’s was the first type that could be used in a sewing machine. Pesticide and chemical free, Fox’s FoxFibre encourages textile industries to use environmentally friendly products.

As a child, Fox made threads using a spindle she bought with her babysitting money. Now considered a “Cotton pioneer,” Fox is the founder of her own company, Vreseis.
Dr. Giuliana Tesoro – Flame Resistant Clothing
Italian-American scientist Giuliana Tesero was born in Venice, but couldn’t attend university in Italy because of her Jewish heritage. Instead, she ended up in the USA, where she gained a PhD in organic chemistry from Yale. Tesoro has made multiple contributions to the textile industry, including developing flame resistant clothing.

Giuliana Tesoro created methods of stopping static buildup in clothing, and improved on wrinkle-free materials. The organic chemist had over 125 patents, and was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gertrude B. Elion – Rational Drug Design
Biochemist and pharmacologist Gertrude Elion co-won the Nobel Prize for her world changing invention. Elion and her colleagues’ invented Rational Drug Design, a new method of understanding how medications work and can be developed. Through this research, Elion invented various life-saving drugs, including AIDs medication, AZT.

Gertrude Elion was inspired to study science and medicine after her grandfather passed away from stomach cancer when she was 15 years old. Elion developed the first successful antiviral, and the first immunosuppressive drug.
Barbara Askins – Photography Enhancing Method
Barbara Askins worked as a teacher before returning to college to study chemistry when her children were in school. She went on to complete her Master’s degree, and then joined NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 1975. While there, Askins invented a way of enhancing underexposed photographs.

Askins’ invention had huge impacts for the medical industry, especially in the development of X-ray images. Her method was also used for space images, and later, in the restoration of old photographs (as pictured).
Marjorie Joyner – Permanent Wave Machine
Born in Virginia in 1896, Marjorie Joyner was the first African American woman to create and patent a perm machine. Joyner was the first African American to graduate from her beauty school in 1916, and opened her own salon shortly after.

Joyner’s machine was an improvement on existing designs, and included a scalp protector. The cosmetologist later teamed up with Madam C. J. Walker, working for her in sales and by teaching classes. Marjorie Joyner also helped develop the first cosmetology laws in Illinois.
Alice H. Parker – Gas Furnace
Finally, we round up our list of incredible female inventors with Alice Parker, inventor of the gas furnace. As with too many other women on this list, not much is known about Parker. The New Jersey native attended Howard University, and invented a type of central heating using natural gas.

Alice Parker filed her patent for a gas furnace in 1919, prior to the Women’s Liberation Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement. Like her fellow inventors on this list, Parker overcame significant bias to get her creation out there.