Baby gays

The first mass-produced cotton swab was developed in by Polish-American Jew Leo Gerstenzang after he watched his wife attach wads of cotton to toothpicks to clean their infant's ears. [1][2] His product was originally named "Baby Gays" in recognition of their being intended for infants before being renamed "Q-tips Baby Gays", with the "Q.

The product was originally called Baby Gays, and in , the labels were changed to read Q-tips ® Baby Gays. Later, the name Baby Gays was discarded and Q-tips ® became the identifying mark for cotton swabs.