Mayo Methot’s accomplishments on the stage and in film are well documented. Less known are her grandmother’s pursuits. Elizabeth Wood, mother to Mayo’s own mom Evelyn Methot, invented a ‘mop wringer pail’ that was patented in 1889.

Her mop pail design was eventually marketed through Elizabeth’s own firm, Wood & Company. Elizabeth Wood died in 1906 at the age of 61, just two years after granddaughter Mayo’s birth.