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‘My past,’ she told the room, ‘is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.’
Michele Roberts: Leader of the NBA Union
(what's a "Modern Worthy"? click here to find out!)
Gerda Geddes and Sophia Delza
Forgotten Pioneers of Tai Chi in the West
Prior to the "kung fu craze" of the '70s, two women were already spreading tai chi in Europe and America.Ashima Shiraishi
Tweenage champion rock climber
This 13-year-old is one of the top female rock climbers in the world. And she's got a great sense of humor on top of that.Tish and Snooky Bellomo
Owners of Manic Panic, the First Punk Rock Boutique
Manic Panic, which has become practically synonymous with extremely vivid shades of hair dye, was started in 1977 by these two punk rock sisters.Emily Hahn
The opium-smoking author who lived with pygmies in Congo
Emily Hahn led a life as varied as her writings. She got a degree in engineering to prove that she could, then made a career as a writer; she lived in a red-light district and dined with millionaires; she had a family in England and worked in New York.“Marm” Mandelbaum
The Queen of Fences
Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum ran an operation fencing millions of dollars worth of stolen goods in New York. To increase her client base, she opened a school to teach aspiring criminals skills such as pickpocketing, graduating up to safe-cracking and blackmail.Mira Modi
11-year-old cryptographic entrepreneur
When her mother started paying her to generate secure passwords, she realized other people would do the same.Ali Stroker
The First Person in a Wheelchair to Perform on Broadway
Ali Stroker became the first person in a wheelchair to perform on Broadway after her debut as Anna in "Spring Awakening."Gisella Perl
A Doctor in Auschwitz
"I learned that [pregnant women] were all taken to the research block to be used as guinea pigs, and then two lives would be thrown into the crematorium. I decided that never again would there be a pregnant woman in Auschwitz.''Margaret Crane
Creator of the Home Pregnancy Test
In 1968, the tests to determine whether someone was pregnant were done in labs, and the results sent to a doctor, who would relay it to the patient--a process which could take weeks. Margaret Crane changed that.Michele Roberts
Leader of the NBA Union
'My past,' she told the room, 'is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.'
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