Dishwasher. Most people think dishwashers are a recent invention, but in reality they have been around for over 100 years. The first machine was actually built in 1887 by Josephine Cochrane. It was a hand-powered machine that required two people to operate it. Cochrane filed for a patent on her dishwasher in 1892 and the United States Patent Office issued her patent on November 17, 1894