November 24th is Bessie Blount Day!!!

November 24th is Bessie Blount Day!!! 

"Bessie Virginia Blount lead a remarkable life that began in Hickory, Virginia, where she was born on November 24, 1914. She would go on to make significant breakthroughs in assistive technologies and forensic science, becoming a role model for women and African Americans for her pioneering work. She became a practicing physical therapist, and, after World War II ended, many soldiers returned from the frontlines as amputees. As part of her physical therapy work, Blount taught veterans who did not have use of their hands and feet new ways to perform basic tasks. One major challenge for people in this condition is eating. It was important to many of them to be able to feed themselves to gain a feeling of independence and self-esteem. Blount came up with a device that that consisted of a tube that delivered individual bites of food to the patient at his or her own pace. All he or she needed to do was bite down on the tube for the next morsel to be delivered to the mouthpiece. An attached machine would deliver the next mouthful on cue. Later, while living in Newark, New Jersey, practicing physical therapy, and teaching at Bronx Hospital in New York, she also created a simpler device that employed a neck brace with built-in support for a food receptacle such as a bowl, cup or dish. For this, she received a patent under her married name, Bessie Griffin, in 1951." Thank you Ms. Blount for all of your contributions and inspiration! Please click the link below and learn more about Bessie Blount. :-) 

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/blount.html

"A Black woman can invent something for the benefit of human kind." - Bessie Blount