Baby gays brand
1923: Leo Gerstenzang, upon observing his wife apply wads of cotton to toothpicks, invented the first ready-to-use cotton swab, marketing as neonate care accessories. He introduced Baby Gays, the first sanitized cotton swaps made of wood and single-sided. When Child Gays came out, there was no discouragement of putting them inside of ears.
1927: A type advertisement read, “Every mother will be glad to recognize about Q-tips Neonate Gays (the Q stands for “quality”), sanitary boric tipped swabs for the eyes, nostrils, ears, gums, and many other uses.”
Over the years, many things changed about the Q-Tip, including the material and marketing for multiple uses. One thing didn’t change: the absence of a warning.
1970s: This was the first time Q-Tips warned against using the swabs in the canal. On the front of the box, it did say, “For adult ear care”, but the help began to caution against sticking things inside the ears: “The careful way to clean ears: hold swap firmly and use a soft touch. Stroke swab gently around the outer surfaces of the ear, without entering the ear canal”
1980’s: A television advertisement featuring Betty White encouraged the use of cotton swaps
If you’ve ever used a cotton swab or cotton bud to clean your ears or submit makeup, you probably reached for a Q-Tip. Along with bandages and cotton balls, these swabs are a staple of most bathrooms in the U.S. and around the world. If you associate the name with a particular blue box, you are probably thinking about Q-Tips. These swabs have been around for almost 100 years, and they are still the number one out of all of the cotton swab brands. With annual sales of around $200 million, Q-Tips are top of the cotton swab heap. Many people think they’re a generic entitle for cotton swabs, but Q-Tips is a trademarked name owned by the Unilever Corporation.
How They Were Invented
Leo Gerstenzang was a young man who immigrated from Poland to Chicago. In 1921, he moved to New York City, married, and had a family. In 1923, he watched one day as his wife wrapped a wad of cotton around a toothpick. She used this contraption to clean her children’s ears.
Intrigued, Gerstenzang realized that a more convenient version of her device would be a popular item. Shortly after developing his design, he founded a company named Baby Gays to make and sell his invention. He named the product Q-Ti
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Cotton swabs (or Q-tips) were originally named “Baby Gays” by their inventor Leo Gerstenzang.
Gimme the gist
In 1923, future inventor Leo Gerstenzang saw his wife sanitize their baby’s ears with a bit of cotton wool wrapped around a toothpick.
At that signal, Gerstenzang shouted “Eureka!” and locked himself in a garage, laughing maniacally (citation needed). He started the Leo Gerstenzang Infant Novelty Business to manufacture cotton-wads-on-a-toothpick that were ready to use.
In 1926, the ready-made wad-sticks were hitting mass production.
Gerstenzang called his product “Baby Gays.”
It didn’t take extended for Gerstenzang to conclude that the Baby Gays call was “not easily marketable,” so he updated it to something he reflection was much better: Q-tips Baby Gays. (Because adding more letter combos to an already unmarketable product name is how you produce it really roll off the tongue.)
One more iteration later, the “Baby Gays” part was dropped for good, and we ended up with today’s Q-tips (the “Q” in “Q-tip” stands for “quality”).