Wiper blades are a small yet important part of a car. It usually goes unnoticed and is sometimes even neglected. But windshield wipers are very important part of not just a car, but any vehicle as they are installed on every motor vehicle from cars to trains to aircrafts and water crafts. Usually they are also a required by law, why you ask? Because windshield wipers or flat wiper blades help make driving safer as they remove water and dirt from the windshield that may block the driver's view.

Flat wiper blades consist of a swinging arm pivoting from one end. The side of the blade that touches the glass has a long rubber attached to it so when the arm swings back and forth water and dirt is pushed away making sure that the view of the driver is clear and unhampered. The main purpose of this mechanism is for safety; so that the windshield would always be free from anything that can block the driver's view.

Also, windshield wipers are usually coupled with a washer or a sprayer. When activated, the sprayer would squirt water into the windshield and then the blades would swing. The purpose of this is so that the driver can clean the windshield anytime, anywhere.

Mary Anderson is given credit for inventing the windshield wiper swinging arm because she was able to patent it in the United States in 1903. However, it was J.H. Apjohn who was able to come up with the method of having two brushes going up and down on a piece of glass of the same year. Whichever the case may be the windshield wiper became standard on all American cars 13 years after Mary Anderson patented it. And in 1919, William Folberth was able to invent the first ever automatic windshield wiper and the patent was granted by 1922. Then, the feature of having an adjustable delay between wipes was introduced in 1969 by Robert Kearns. Then, the first rain sensitive wiper was introduced by Citroen in 1970 and was used on their SM model. The wipers would swing once and check to see if the glass was wet or dry. If it was dry, the motor would draw a higher current and delay was created. If the glass was wet, the motor would draw a lower current and would swing faster with less delay. Ever since the year 2006, rain sensing and rain sensitive windshield wipers are common among Cadillacs and are available by request from other motor dealers like Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, Jeep, Mercedes and others.

Flat blade wipers have come a long way since 1903. Not only are they automatic nowadays, but they have a variety of uses as well. Some cars are fitted with smaller wipers at their headlights to ensure adequate and unaltered lighting from them. Other models like mini vans, sports utility vehicles or SUVs and station wagons have windshield wipers at the back window so that they can make sure that their rear view is also free from any mud and dirt.