When disposable nappies were invented
In 1947, after the birth of her third child, Valerie Hunter Gordon decided she was sick of the drudgery of cloth nappies and so she invented disposable nappies.
In 1947, after the birth of her third child, Valerie Hunter Gordon, from Surrey decided she was sick of the drudgery of cloth nappies.
She came up with a solution – a reusable outer garment, initially made out of parachute material, with a disposable, biodegradable pad inside.
She named it the Paddi and once her friends saw it, they all wanted one, so she went into business. Rachel Naylor speaks to Nigel Hunter Gordon, Valerie’s son, who modelled them as a baby in the first adverts.
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How the disposable nappy was invented
Duration: 01:24
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- Thu 13 Jul 202307:50GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 13 Jul 202311:50GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 13 Jul 202317:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Thu 13 Jul 202321:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 14 Jul 202302:50GMTBBC World Service
- Sun 14 Apr 202416:00GMTBBC Radio 4 FM
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