From the chocolate chip cookie to the circular saw, women have been credited with  inventing some of the most important (and tastiest!) creations in history. And in some cases, they may deserve credit where they didn’t get any.

How so?

The first American woman to be credited with inventing something was Mary Kies in 1809, who developed a way to weave straw into hats. But she was by far the first.

Until the late 1800s, women were actually unable to file for patents in their own names. Sybilla Masters invented a way to turn corn into cornmeal, but eventually had to apply for the patent in 1715 under her husband’s name because she was not allowed to own property. Patents are considered property.

A variety of slideshows online showcase some of the most notable inventions by women. You can add the windshield wiper, fire escape, and liquid paper to the sweet treat and handy tool noted above. And many more.

Here, I’ll take a look at women’s inventions specific to the technology field.

The Dishwasher

In 1886, socialite Josephine Cochrane received a patent for her highly useful invention. As a frequent entertainer at home, she sought out to find a way to get her expensive dishes cleaned quicker (by her servants, of course, not by her) and without chipping. She built each compartment, piece by piece, to accommodate various sizes of dishes, cups, and bowls. A motor turned the wheel they were placed in while hot, soapy water sprayed up from a boiler to clean off the dishes.

The Electric Hot Water Heater

The electric hot water heater would have come in handy for Cochrane’s aforementioned invention. But it wasn’t until decades later in 1917 that Ida R. Forbes is credited with having invented the appliance. As a great gift for the family, her patent was issued on Christmas Day of that year.

Baking Attachment for Stove

While the idea of cooking on top of a hot surface has been around for ages, it was in 1867 that American Elizabeth Hawks invented an attachment for the stove that would help specifically with the baking process. Her attachment helped more evenly spread the heat, and keep crusts tender. Hawks reportedly sold 2,000 of them in just a few months. That’s a lot of bread!

The Refrigerator

A native of Hoboken, NJ, Florence Parpart was first credited with improving the design of street sweeping machines. But she is perhaps best known for inventing the modern refrigerator in 1914, which took over for the clunky icebox for anyone who had the electricity to run it. While it’s suspected that her fiance, who was skilled in electrical circuitry, helped greatly with the product design, it’s clear that Parpart’s entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen helped catapult the appliance to success.

Mac Icons

In more recent years, Susan Kare developed the icons  that now so beautifully define the Apple Mac user experience. Back in the ‘80s, she sought out to create visual representations of functions that would be easy-to-use, minimalist, but clear. This was an especially difficult task given the limitations of computer graphics at that time. Some of the most known ones include the Sad Mac, Happy Mac, the Watch, and the Trash Can. She also developed many of the fonts we use on Macs today, including Chicago. Kare was most recently working at Facebook on its Gifting icons.

COBOL Computer Language

Admiral Grace Murray Hopper is an important name in the computing industry, as she is credited with developing the compiler program for translating English into computer code. But even bigger on her resume is the development of the Common

Business-Oriented Language, better known as COBOL, which is one of the first languages used in the computer programming world.