18 Feb The Inventor Who Worked in her Sleep
Image: Inventor – Myra Juliet Farrell – National Archives of Australia
By Sally Thorsteinsson, UNE Discovery
(pic of Myra Farrell)
In the Discovery team, we are often inventing things to help us present an activity. Perhaps “inventing” is too strong a word, although I think the facilitators putting together the new Discovery engineering activity definitely feel that their inventiveness has been well tested recently! Wouldn’t we would love to have the ability to solve problems while we are asleep? Very few people have this talent, however, this article is about a self-professed “inventress” who did just that. Her creations are numerous, varied and inspiring and I’d like to share a little about her as she is not well-known.
Myra Juliet Farrell was born in 1878 in Ireland, and grew up in Broken Hill, settling in Sydney as an adult. It seems she was a wonderfully creative problem solver, even as a child, and was always looking for ways to simplify life. She was only 10 when she came up with and developed the idea of a self-locking safety pin. Myra Farrell said that she would often think about a problem before she went to bed, and solutions would come to her in her sleep. She was a sleepwalker (a somnambulant) and would scrawl answers to a problem with whatever was near, even bedsheets or walls! And she wrote backwards, so in the morning she would hold her notes up to a mirror to transcribe them, later adding details in drawings and models. This amazing ability allowed her to come up with a range of inventions, some of which we still use today.
Myra Farrell’s inventions include practical household items we know well, such as a folding clothes drier, stitch-less buttons (press-studs) and a folding pram hood; physical aids such as a sling for carrying a baby; industrial inventions such as an automated fruit picker and packer and medical devices. The first of her 25 patents was for a clever machine that transcribed a sewing pattern from a book onto fabric, allowing for changes in size. Perhaps the most remarkable solution that came to her while sleeping and while critically ill with “chest troubles” (possibly lead poisoning). She felt she was “far too young to die” and “prayed and concentrated”, then awoke one morning to find she had written a list of seven ingredients. These she prepared as an inhalation she used daily and three years later was declared completely cured. Myra’s formula – Membrosus Inhalation Treatment – subsequently assisted her future husband and many other tuberculosis patients.
Digital copies of some of her patents can be seen on the National Archives of Australia website. Her drawings also illustrate her artistic abilities; she was a keen impressionist painter, having learnt from a stage artist.
Myra Farrell acknowledged the obstacles she faced and admitted that she was not good at business. However, she was also challenged by the social constraints of her time and did not receive the credit she deserved. Despite that, she continued to invent and share her talents. Be inspired by Myra – despite having to work against the grain she still invented and created. If you have an idea you think is great, don’t give up, it may be something that makes someone else’s life better.
Basic search | RecordSearch | National Archives of Australia
Myra Juliet Farrell – Wikipedia
Myra Juliette Farrell Broken Hill, Australia | Official Tourism Website