Judith Esser Mittag
Feminine Hygiene Advertisement
Although television commercials frequently used the "designed by a woman gynecologist" slogan to sell tampons, the woman gynecologist herself remained anonymous for many years. Women have historically invented some form of tampon for several thousand years. The American version with an applicator was invented by Dr. Earle Hass in 1936. In the 1940's, however, the o.b. tampon without an applicator was invented by Dr. Judith Esser Mittag, a German gynecologist. The initials o.b. stood for "ohne binde" or non-binding. Two German entrepreneurs had seen the American version advertised in a magazine and the message it sent to women of the freedom they would enjoy during their periods from not having to wear bulky sanitary napkins. Dr. Esser Mittag's studies on female anatomy played a role in her development of her design. o.b. which was develped and produced by the Carl Hahn Company in Germany was eventually bought by Johnson and Johnson. When the tampon was first marketed it was condemned as "an immoral product."
To date five women hold a total of eight separate patents for variations of the tampon. (Mothers and Daughters of Invention by Autumn Stanley, p. 219.)
1936 Dr. Earle Hass Patent
Vesta Roman Goddess of the Hearth
References:
Mothers and Daughters of Invention by Autumn Stanley (Rutgers University Press, 1995) pp. 54n,307,340n50.Patently Female by Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg ptacek (John Wiley, 2002) p. 219.
Web Sites
O.B. Origins (translated from the German)Earle Hass' Patent
Feminine Hygeiene History
O.B. History
