54 Unique Women Facts

By Kaylee Heath, Associate Writer

Published September 21, 2017

The word “vagina” was first used on film in Walt Disney’s production “The Story of Menstruation.” This 1946 film explains menstruation and gives tips on how to help women stop feeling sorry for themselves._[21]
In 16th century France, women could charge their husbands with impotence as a reason for divorce. The convicted husbands would have to prove themselves in a public trial through successfully ejaculating._[20]
The two highest IQ scores in recorded history belong to women._[23]
In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Japan, women used softened papyrus, lint wrapped around wood, and paper to absorb menstruation bleeding._[21]

Aging isn't all so bad

A woman’s clitoris grows throughout her lifetime. This means that many women in their forties and fifties have stronger orgasms than they did during their teens and twenties._[18]
A 1770 bill proposed in the British Parliament suggested that any woman wearing make-up should be punished for witchcraft._[23]
It is estimated that 6–10% of incarcerated women are pregnant, with as many as 1,400 births in prisons annually in the United States._[7]
Women earn more than 60% of all college degrees in the United States._[13]
In the 1940s, women in the United States advertised products to gain weight and thus become more ideally curvy and beautiful. “Men wouldn’t look at me when I was skinny,” said one advertisement, “but since I gained 10 pounds this new, easy way, I have all the dates I want.”_[5]
In Greek mythology, the first god to be born after Chaos (the first element to exist) was a woman named Gaia, or Mother Earth. Gaia, without assistance from a male god, then birthed Uranus, (the sky) the mountains, and Pontus (the sea)._[3]
Some women are born with two uteruses, a rare condition called uterus didelphys. Sometimes women with this condition also have two vaginas._[21]
Although male brains are 9% larger than female brains, both have the same amount of brain cells. The brain cells in women merely pack together more densely._[4]

I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.

- Jane Austen

Unwed mothers in early America often killed their newborn babies in order to avoid the shame that came with mothering an illegitimate child. "Baby farms" also popped up during this time, known nationally as slaughterhouses for unwanted children._[15][30]
Wonder Woman (2017) was the first superhero film starring a female lead to be directed by a woman._[25]
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903. In addition, women over the years have patented non-reflective glass, disposable diapers, white out, and industrial lathes, among many other innovations._[23]
In the last sixteen years, a single woman has summited Mount Everest seven times, more times than any other woman on earth._[24]
Seventy-one percent of mothers in the United States with kids under 18-years-old work outside of the home. Approximately 40 years ago, less than 47% of mothers worked._[13]
A 43-year-old female schoolteacher was the first person ever to ride over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel._[23]
Around the world, one woman dies every 90 seconds from complications of pregnancy or childbirth._[19]

Burneshas spend years practicing male mannerisms, trying to mimic them down to the smallest details (Jill Peters)

In Albania, a group of women called burneshas live in mountain villages as men in order to avoid societal restrictions. They cut their hair, wear men’s clothing, practice male gestures and mannerisms, change their names, and swear celibacy._[31]
In the 19th century, Dr. William Acton of England said that “the majority of women (happily for them) are not very much troubled with sexual feelings of any kind.”_[12]
On average, in the United States, full-time working women earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by men._[13]
Highly refined women of the 19th century refused to say the word “leg,” as it was seen as too promiscuous. They preferred “limb” instead._[12]
In India and Napal, the practice of widow burning (sati) occurred when women burned themselves alive on their husbands’ funeral pyres as a sign of devotion and love. It was meant to be a voluntary act, but occasionally women were drugged or pushed into the fire._[26]
The vagina averages a 4.5 on the pH scale, similar to the acidity of a tomato._[21]
Although women were not allowed to even watch the first Olympic Games, the “Games of Hera” were held every four years for women to compete in foot racing events._[23]
Women first began to wear heels in order to imitate men, who started donning high heels in the 1600s as a sign of their masculinity and status._[29]

Mary, Queen of Clubs

Mary, Queen of Scots went into public a few days after her husband’s murder to play golf. She is the first recorded woman to golf in Scotland._[23]
The earliest known female physician lived in ancient Egypt around 2700 B.C._[23]
The United States is one of the last countries in the world that does not mandate maternity or paternity leave. In comparison, Estonia offers more than 87 weeks of paid parental leave._[17]
The nearer a mother lives to the equator, the more likely she is to give birth to a baby girl as opposed to a baby boy._[10]
Because of the high production of estrogen during puberty, girls’ brains generally mature two years earlier than boys’._[4]
Virne Mitchell, the first professional female baseball player, struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig._[23]
When considering both paid and unpaid work (such as housework and childcare), women work approximately 30 minutes more per day (or 39 more days per year) than men._[6]
The term “pin-up girl” came from photos of curvy women that were mass produced and meant to be “pinned up” on a wall during World War II._[5]
Pornography in the 19th century brought high heels back into women’s fashion._[29]

The high heel: a symbol of masculinity, femininity, or pornography?

In Japan, around A.D. 1000, a woman published the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji._[23]
Women in their 30s and 40s report having more sexual fantasies, casual sex, and one-night stands than in their younger years, making middle-aged women, on average, more sexually active than college-aged girls._[8]
The only event women could enter in the 1924 Olympics was ice skating. Fifteen women performed._[23]
There are 5 million stay-at-home women in the United States, compared to 209,000 stay-at-home men._[13]
The mother is the singular or principal breadwinner in 40% of families with children in the United States._[13]

Baby girls have more interest in looking at happy faces than fearful faces

Women, even from infancy, are generally more interested in facial expressions, emotional tones in voices, and non-verbal cues than men._[4]
During WWII, a female African American performer transported hidden messages to French soldiers through sheet music covered in invisible ink._[23]
In the North African Tuereg matriarchal society, men wear veils and women do not._[28]
There are 1.6 million female veterans in the United States. Women make up around 14% of active U.S. military members._[13]
Between 1970–2010, the percentage of female lawyers in the United States shot up from 4.9% to 33.4%._[13]
The anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that weighs options when making a decision, is larger in women than in men._[4]
Women tend to talk more than men do. A recent study shows that women say, on average, 13,000 more words per day than men._[9]
Zeng Jinlian, from China, was the tallest woman in recorded history. She stood an astonishing 8 feet 1 ¾ inches tall. That’s over a foot taller than Shaquille O’Neal!_[27]
In 2013, in the United States, there were 664,435 legal abortions. This is far greater than the number in 1970, which was 193,491, but significantly fewer than the 1,429,247 abortions in 1990._[11]

The first ordination of a female pastor occurred in 1881

In the United States today, it is estimated that approximately 10% of Protestant Christian pastors are female._[2]
On average, women live 2–5 years longer than men, a fact which holds true in every country in the world. This isn’t limited to human beings; female orangutans and chimpanzees also outlive their male counterparts._[22]
Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were built by women: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were planted by the Assyrian Queen Semiramis; and the Masoleum of Halicarnassus was built by Artemisia, queen of Caria._[14]
Women’s make-up in ancient Rome was made of a wide variety of ingredients, including lead, olive oil, saffron, and the sweat of gladiators!_[1][16]