Flash of Genius film reveals dirty history of intermittent wiper


Click above to view Flash of Genius trailer

Considering that automakers today are racing to develop complex electric drive and alternative fuel technologies, it's amazing to realize that the biggest technological hurdle to overcome back in 1967 was getting wiper blades to operate intermittently. As it turns out, the history of how the intermittent wiper came to be is actually a dark tale in automotive history. Invented by college professor Robert Kearns in the late '60s, the technology was shopped around to every major automaker and Ford was the first to adopt it. Except the house that Henry built screwed Kearns out of not only the money he was due, but also the credit for developing what automakers themselves couldn't. That story has now been turned into a major motion picture called Flash of Genius that stars Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham (the mom from Gilmore Girls), Dermot Mulroney and Alan Alda. We wouldn't have thought a movie about windshield wipers would be very interesting, but the preview after the jump has us hooked. It's slated to open in theaters on October 17th courtesy of Universal.


[Source: Flashofgenius.net]


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