Bertha Benz and the Road That Didn’t Exist

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

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