today in Black history - feb 5

Inventor Willis Johnson patented and improved the mechanical egg beater (U.S. pat# 292,821) on February 5, 1884.

Sketch of W. Johnson’s mechanical beater

As someone who enjoys cooking and baking from scratch, I can’t imagine life without my stand mixer (or at least my old-school handheld mixer). If you’ve ever whipped cream with a whisk, or kneaded dough by hand, you feel me. That should count as cardio. As with many inventions that are integral to my life, I haven’t often taken the time to appreciate the creative ingenuity of the individual who took the idea of beating a better egg from concept to reality. I was, therefore, hype to have the opportunity today to learn more about inventor Willis Johnson who, on February 5, 1884, patented the mechanical egg beater (which was the precursor to the mixer we know today)... sigh. I am disappointed to have discovered that there is a surprising lack of information about Willis Johnson. I found one book about him published in 2023, another book in which he is mentioned, and a lot of blurbs about his patent, like this one. If anyone out there knows of a good Willis Johnson biography, hit me up. I think his life should be remembered.