Sometimes, a product that was invented for one purpose can become popular and widely used for another. That’s exactly what happened to q-tips. These handy little tools were created by Leo Gerstenzang, a Polish-born American in 1923.
He got the idea of making a pre-manufactured cotton swab after watching his wife applying a piece of cotton to a toothpick to clean hard-to-reach areas. The invention was marketed by Gerstenzang’s company, the Infant Novelty Company, which sold babies accessories, and was originally called Baby Gays.
Yep, Baby Gays. I don’t know about you, but I’m really glad that this name didn’t last long. It may have been suitable for a product that was sold for cleaning babies’ ears after a bath, but not for a beauty tool. Can you imagine touching up your makeup with a Baby Gay? Me neither. So, in 1926, Baby Gays were renamed Q-tips. The Q means quality, while “tips” describes the piece of cotton at the end of the stick.
Overtime, people found out that q-tips could also be used to clean pretty much anything from electronic devices to jewelry, and to apply and remove makeup. The popularity, and thus the demand, of q-tips grew. In 1987, the Q-Tip Company was bought by Uniliver and since then, they have introduced new products such as antibacterial cotton swabs and, more recently, Q-tips Precision Tips, which have a pointed tip specially designed for makeup touch-ups and cleaning tight spaces.
The brand now produces a staggering 25.5 billion Q-tips a year!
What do you use q-tips for?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I use them for their originally intended purpose and to clean things like the phone and crevices in furniture.
I don’t use them for makeup.
This article was perfectly time with a weird swab story on A Bad Case of the Dates – what a coincidence!
Ana´s last [type] ..theremina:
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Ana, cute tips are very handy to clean crevices in furniture! I use them for that often.
Makeup-wise, I think they’re particularly useful to clean up tiny mascara marks on the lid.
And I’ve just read that story, it’s quite disturbing. Now that’s something I never thought of using q-tips for!
Oh yes, cleaning up mascara, I forgot about that, silly me.
Quite O_o .
Ana´s last [type] ..Countess de Castiglione via Strange Flowers
It’s very handy for that, isn’t it?
Love this post haha! I never knew the q stood for quality. I always keep a box of q tips on my night stand, they’re so useful for everything. Also, were they originally called Baby Guys or Baby Gays? You have it both ways in your post, so I was just wondering
Makeup Morsels´s last [type] ..Let’s Play the Medal Game with VS PRO Airbrush FX Primers
Makeup Morsels, oops that was a typo, thanks for pointing it out to me. They were called Baby Gays. I guess they thought that having clean ears made babies happy.
And they’re really handy for so many things, aren’t they?
Q-tips for removing makeup and cleaning the computer. I never knew this! Love love your history posts <3
Janessa, I use them to clean my computer too, so useful! And I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
Cleaning in and around my ears – I get sebum behind my ears too q-tips are a gentle way to remove rather than doing it with a cloth. I also use them clean my computer keyboard, and remove mascara and other makeup around my eyes.
I’ve not seen Q-tips sold here in the UK so I always get Johnson & Johnson cotton swabs.
Annabella Freeman´s last [type] ..Weight Watchers Week 2
Annabella, they’re very versatile, aren’t they? I love how they can be used to clean pretty much everything.