Daily I get into my vehicle, switch on the engine, and set off. If it is a hot day, I choose to switch on the air conditioning or put down my convertible roof. On cold days I set the heat system, to be certain I am comfortable whilst driving. When it is raining, snowing or foggy I use my Wiper blades to clear the windscreen.

I never normally think of how these things developed for my comfort, I just accept that vehicles have these features to enhance my driving experience. However, as winter nears, it caused me to reflect upon the Windscreen wipers and what a amazing invention they are.

I have searched for information on this matter and found that in 1903, when the first windshields were added to cars, an inventor by the name of J H Apjohn came up with the concept of Windscreen wipers in the form of brushes which swept up and down the windshield to clean it. I imagine that the brushes most likely caused quite a few scratches to the windshield, so in 1905, when the American inventor, Mary Anderson, patented the swinging arm style of windshield wiper, with a rubber blade, this must have been enthusiastically accepted by the automotive industry.

These early Windscreen wipers called for the operator to move a lever in the vehicle to work the wipers, so the next big move was towards electric Windscreen wipers. A dentist from Hawaii, Dr Ormand Wall, invented the electric wipers in 1917, some 12 years after Mary Anderson’s first Wiper Blades were added to motor vehicles.

All Windscreen wipers had rubber blades until relatively recently. The problems found with these were that owing to temperature changes, summer heat, ice in winter, the rubber rotted and the Wiper blades needed replacing in a reasonably short time period.

Silicone wiper blades are now also available and these are less susceptible to temperature changes than their rubber forerunners. While the Silicone wiper blades are somewhat more expensive than the rubber Windscreen wipers, they frequently come with a guarantee to not rot or split, as can occur with the rubber wipers, and also allege to be able to follow the contours of the windshield better, giving a cleaner sweep.

We ask a lot from these amazing little inventions. I expect to push or pull or twist at a stick on my steering wheel and get an instant effect from the Wiper blades. They are required to clear dirt and bugs from my windshield in the summer. When the roads are filthy, I want the filth to be removed from my windscreen straight away, to give me good vision. If it is icy first thing in the morning, I switch on the heater and impatiently switch the Windscreen wipers on to clean the screen quickly. In winter the heavy snow is given short shrift.

Because of the above I give thanks to the ingenious Mary Anderson, the inventor of Windscreen wipers.I also marvel at the type of mind that could come up with such an invention out of just being faced with a problem. It’s a lesson to us all when we’re facing adversity.