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How Hollywood's Hedy Helped Heighten Handhelds (hackaday.com)

szczys writes: Hedy Lamarr is a household name for the wrong reason. Her name is known as a Hollywood actress, but her legacy is in your pocket and reaches far more people than her movies. She was a brilliant thinker who plied her skills during World War II, developing technology that could help to win the war. Her patent wasn't used at the time, but is a foundation of spread-spectrum which is used in the radio modules of your cellphone: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and others. This frequency hopping concept sat unused for decades before being added to the most ubiquitous of wireless connectivity methods.

4 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Thank you, Hedy. by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, it's Hedley!

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    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  2. Agh by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 4, Funny

    Asinine Alliteration Accentuates Author's Atrociously Antiquated Awareness About Awesome And Able Actress

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    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

  3. This is a great article! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    But how can we encourage more women and minorities to join STEM fields? We're discouraging future Hedy Lamarrs with the toxic 'bro culture' that pervades programming.

    1. Re: This is a great article! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Target Hollywood stars, obviously.