© Provided by Trusted Media Brands, Inc. Q-tips Q-tips, those hygienic products that you can use for everything from 'gently applying ointments and creams,' to 'clean[ing] and dust [ing] even hard to reach places,' are staples of doctor’s offices and medicine cabinets the whole world over. It’s no mystery that people often ignore the company’s warnings and use them as implements of ear-cleaning, but you know what is a mystery? (Really, you should never, ever use them to clean your ears.) What in the heck the Q means.

The product name certainly rolls off the tongue better than the generic 'cotton swab' name, that’s for sure. That’s because it’s a quality name. A quality name that means 'Quality tips.'

That’s right, the Q stands for quality. Q-tips were first conceived by Leo Gerstenzang, who observed his wife stick bits of cotton to toothpicks. He decided that his wife had the right idea and decided to found the Leo Gerstenzang Infant Novelty Co. in 1923, which would manufacture ready to use cotton swabs.

But the product wouldn’t pick up its now famous name until 1926. For the first three years, the cotton swabs were called 'Baby Gays,' which the company would be modified to become 'Q-tips® Baby Gays.' Eventually, they dropped 'Baby Gays' altogether and were just left with Q-tips.

Want some more Q-tip ideas? Make sure to check out these clever ways to use Q-tips you wish you knew all along.

[Source: Q-tips]

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