yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

How Bicycles Changed Women's Lives | Origins: The Journey of Humankind


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

There are always consequences to what we create, often unintended. And some can cause serious problems. But sometimes, those unintended consequences are for the best. Nowhere is this more true than with our advancements in transportation. One early ride came to symbolize freedom for an entire gender.

Illinois, 1893, Frances Willard, the famous fighter for women's rights, experienced the wind in her face for the very first time on the seat of a safety bicycle.

AMANDA FOREMAN: I think it's hard for us to imagine today what it is like to be literally trapped inside your own house. Women were literally trapped at home in the 19th century. Their clothes trapped them because they were so heavy. They weighed up to 25 pounds. And they couldn't get about. They were dependent on a man to either put them on a horse or put them in a carriage and take them there. The bicycle offered them a way of freedom.

How do you ride it? With great courage and dexterity, of which you are very capable. And how do you pedal wearing such cumbersome things? Carefully. [chuckles] Your turn. She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life. And the two things that must occupy your thoughts to the exclusion of everything else-- First, the goal. Indeed. And today's goal will be that plow. OK, then. The first is the goal and the second? The momentum requisite to reach it. Exactly. Don't look down. Aim directly for your goal. Look straight ahead, not at me!

Oh. [chuckling] ANNA GORDON: Oh! [clang] [laughter] Go home to your husband! It's the same as with all reforms. Sometimes they seem to lag, then they barely balance, and away they go again, as merrily as if they'd never been threatened to stop at all.

Ooh. Oh. We made it. [laughter] Hello. Hello, lovely to see you. HOST: The freedom of movement Frances Willard found on her bicycle helped her give her speech on time, a speech about another kind of freedom-- [cheering] --equal rights for women. And let them know the world was made for women too. [cheers, applause]

More Articles

View All
Why OpenAI's o1 Is A Huge Deal | YC Decoded
Open AI’s newest model is finally here. It’s called 01, and it’s much better for questions around mathematics and coding, and scores big on many of the toughest benchmarks out there. So, what’s the secret to why it works? Let’s take a look. Inside OpenAI…
2015 AP Biology free response 8
An individual has lost the ability to activate B cells and mount a humoral immune response. Part A: Propose one direct consequence of the loss of B cell activity on the individual’s humoral immune response to the initial exposure to a bacterial pathogen.…
Remarks by Kirsty Nathoo
So that wraps up the day of talks. We do have a reception now downstairs; that’s downstairs where you had your lunch, and also outside in the courtyard. Before everybody disappears, I do have some thank yous. Thank you very much to everybody who has been…
2 step estimation example
We are told a teacher bought 12 sheets of stickers to use on the homework of her students. Each sheet had 48 stickers. At the end of the year, the teacher had 123 stickers remaining. Which is the best estimate for the number of stickers the teacher used? …
Is Political Difference Biological? | StarTalk
And so there’s a recent book called “Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences.” It was like, yeah, let’s get some science! It’s like, roll some science into this conversation! And it suggests that political views may …
Why You Didn't Die at Birth - Smarter Every Day 42
Hey, it’s me Destin. Welcome to Smarter Every Day. So, today’s episode’s a little bit different. I have a question about breathing. It’s pretty simple. See, our bags are packed and we’re about to go to the hospital to have our third child, and my question…