All cars have one, some choose to keep their sat-nav stored here, others a bag of sweets (or a cat?). Very few use them as a storage compartment for their gloves. So why do we refer to this as a glove compartment/ glovebox?
I the early part of the 20th century, a female British Motor Racing driver named Dorothy Levitt was a pioneer in the sport, becoming the first woman to compete in a motor race back in 1904. She helped to pave the way for other female drivers: Kay Petre, Gwenda Hawkes, the Hon Mrs Victor Bruce (yes, me neither).
Dorothy Levitt drove around in her fur coat and gloves and was obviously looking for a place to store her gloves, no doubt when she pulled over for tea and cake!
She coined the phrase glove compartment referring to a draw beneath the seat in which female drivers could place their gloves. These did not start being added to cars until much later, and despite the move to the dashboard the name stuck.
