
Bertha Benz and the Road That Didn’t Exist
From Blind History by The Gareth Cliff Show
February 6, 2026 · 24 min
About this episode
This episode tells the story of Bertha Benz, the woman who made the motorcar work by undertaking the first long-distance drive.
History credits a man with inventing the motorcar. This episode tells the story of the woman who made it work. In 1888, Bertha Benz took an untested invention on the world’s first long-distance drive, inventing brake linings, solving breakdowns with a hat pin, and creating the first fuel stop along the way. Blind History reveals how one quiet rebel forced the future to move.
People in this episode
Host: Gareth Cliff
Topics covered
- automotive history
- women in history
- innovation
- transportation
- breakthrough inventions
Keywords
- Bertha Benz
- motorcar
- long-distance drive
- brake linings
- automotive innovation
Mentioned in this episode
Products: motorcar
More episodes of Blind History
- BLIND HISTORY S8 EP9 | Grace O'Malley: The Pirate Queen Who Refused to Kneel to a Queen · January 30, 2026 · 28 min
- BLIND HISTORY S8 EP7 | Richard III: Villain by Design? · January 23, 2026 · 39 min
- BLIND HISTORY S8 EP7 | Charles XII of Sweden: The Warrior King Who Never Backed Down · January 16, 2026 · 29 min
- The Unkillable Soldier: The Insane Life of Adrian Carton de Wiart · December 12, 2025 · 27 min
- Pu Yi: The Emperor Who Lost Everything · December 5, 2025 · 17 min
- Haile Selassie: The King of Kings Who Lost Everything · November 28, 2025 · 21 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Blind History podcast page.