Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,978. Its county seat is Punta Gorda. Charlotte County comprises the Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the North Port-Sarasota, FL Combined Statistical Area.
In 1959, an African American woman by the name of Bertha Berman patented a design for fitted sheets that had corners sewn in a way that would fit the sheet to the mattress. These sheets were still less than perfect as they still managed to pop off the bed.
His crash sensing technology -- the only one of its kind -- is considered the world's first electromechanical automotive airbag system. Breed's role in automotive safety didn't stop there. He helped designed more than two dozen other car safety inventions, including an airbag that vents air as it inflates. This 1991 invention -- patent No. 5,071,161 -- was designed to reduce the risk of secondary injuries by reducing the inflated bag's rigidity..