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by Spixxy on January 17th, 2004

Spixxy

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When was the q-tip invented and what was its original intent?

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  • by Yoyo Head on February 28th, 2004

    Yoyo Head

    This was copied from "Ask Yahoo":

    According to the history section on the official Q-tips site, the "Q" stands for quality. But the familiar cotton-tipped swab wasn't always known by this quirky moniker.

    In 1923, Leo Gerstenzang noticed that his wife had stuck a bit of cotton on a toothpick and was using it to clean their baby's ears. Thinking that this jerry-rigged swab might cause some damage to the kid, Leo designed a safer cotton swab.

    He started the Leo Gerstenzang Infant Novelty Company to sell his new creation, which he dubbed Baby Gays. In 1926, he changed the swab's name to Q-tip Baby Gays, and eventually the product name was shortened to just Q-tips. Over time, the brand name has come to stand for any cotton swab, another example of a propriety eponym like Kleenex or Xerox.

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