Peanut Butter

• George Washington Carver, an African American agricultural scientist, invented peanut butter in 1896. While Carver was teaching at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama, he advised local farmers to plant peanuts in order to improve the quality of their soil for cotton and tobacco crops. The peanuts grew so well that farmers had a large surplus of unpicked, spoiled peanuts. Carver invented peanut butter as a way to use up all the extra peanuts before they rotted.
  
  

Gas Mask

• Garrett A. Morgan invented several safety items during the early 1900s, but his most well-known is the gas mask. Morgan was an entrepreneur in Cleveland, Ohio who owned a variety of businesses, including a tailor shop and newspaper. In 1914, he developed the "Safety Hood," to ensure the safety of firefighters. It was a device that covered a person's face and came equipped with air filtering tubes that could help a person breathe in smoky areas. The invention became known as a gas mask.
  
  

Ironing Board

• Sarah Boone developed the first ironing board in 1892 and became the first African American woman to patent an invention. People would often use pieces of wood or a long table to lay out clothes for ironing. Boone's ironing board was made of a wooden board covered with padding. It was elevated by thin legs that could fold back for easier storage. The board was reversible and had one end that curved to make ironing long sleeves easier.
  
  

Mop

• In 1893, Thomas Stewart developed and patented the mechanically clamping mop in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to the invention of the mop, people would bend over to clean their floors. Stewart made the mop by attaching a rag to the end of a wooden stick. He added a metal clasp at the base of the cloth to secure the cloth. Once the cloth became dirty, it could be removed by unhooking the metal clasp.
  
  

Potato Chips

• An African American restaurant chef named George Crum invented the potato chip in 1853. A customer ordered a plate of French fries and complained about their thickness. In an effort to satisfy the customer, Crum sliced the potatoes extremely thin before deep frying them. The thin, sliced potatoes became crunchy after being cooked. The customer liked them so much that they became the signature dish at Crum's restaurant and inspired other chefs.