March 8, 2023 – Theme Week Day 3

We’re halfway through our theme week on Things You Didn’t Know Were Invented by Women!
Today, we’re talking about Aquariums, which were invented by a pioneering French marine biologist named Jeanne Villepreux-Power. She was an extremely skilled Parisian dressmaker who was hired to embroider dresses for royal weddings. But when she and her husband moved to Sicily, she took a greater interest in continuing her education and studied geology, archeology, and natural history. She also began doing experiments with marine and terrestrial animals with the idea to inventory the island’s ecosystem. As she began studying marine animals more and more, she realized she needed a vessel that would allow her to observe them over time. So she developed a glass enclosure, ultimately inventing 3 different types of aquariums in 1832 – the glass aquariums that we still use today, one that was submersible in a cage, and a larger one that could be anchored at sea. Keeping fish in an aquarium became a popular hobby and spread quickly. It became even more popular as more homes had electricity, allowing for artificial lighting, aeration, filtration, and heating of the water. Today, surveys show that over 13 million American homes keep fish as pets, making them the 3rd most popular pet after dogs and cats. Learn more here.