#16: Sarah E. Goode – Folding Cabinet Bed
Sarah E. Goode was thinking about how to save space before tiny homes and studio apartments. She invented a clever piece of space-saving furniture: the folding cabinet bed. Patented in 1885, her invention looked like an ordinary roll-top desk when closed. But it could be unfolded to reveal a full-size bed, providing a sleeping space that disappeared during the day. This made her one of the first Black women in the United States to be granted a patent. Her idea was perfectly suited for the small, crowded apartments of a growing urban America and was a clear forerunner of modern Murphy beds.
