In the early days of trains, women were discouraged from using them as a means of transportation. The technology was unfamiliar to the public, and it was thought that women’s bodies were not made to travel at 50 miles per hour and that their uteruses would physically fly out of their body if they traveled at that speed. There were also theories that people would melt when going at such high speeds. Of course, time and increased travel put these theories to rest, but it didn’t end there. When automobiles became more popular in the 1900s, people thought that women would not—and should not —be able to drive them, due to their supposed psychical inferiority and sudden bouts of hysteria. One woman in particular put men’s worries at ease. Alice Ramsey was just 22 years old when she drove across the country in 1909. She, along with three friends, drove for 59 days total, and proved that women were just as capable as men were at driving automobiles.
Previous: Whiskey History