Women Taking Over

Originally Aired: December 8, 1942 Fibber McGee & Molly #342, "Women Taking Over," Fibber spends all day trying to fix the vacuum cleaner, stubbornly refusing Molly's help while insisting that men are smarter and do all the important work in the world. Molly counters his boasting with witty examples of male inventions that create more problems than they solve, like the can opener that simply adds an extra step to cooking beans. When Fibber can't repair the vacuum because a part is missing, he wants to call the hardware store, only to discover the telephone is out of order. Things take an amusing turn when the telephone repair person arrives and turns out to be a woman. Despite Fibber's skepticism and condescending remarks, she quickly diagnoses the problem, fixes it efficiently, and leaves. As Fibber and Molly prepare to walk to the hardware store to save gas, they encounter more examples of women doing traditionally male jobs, including a female paper delivery person. Each encounter chips away at Fibber's insistence on male superiority while he continues to grumble about this changing world.