If they’re not for your ears, what are Q-tips good for?
May 9, 2017, 8:26 AM
Coffee stirrer, camp fire lighter ... you can use Q-tips for anything. Except cleaning your ears. (Will Culpepper, Flickr)
(Will Culpepper, Flickr)
Q-tips were originally invented in 1923 by Leo Gerstenzang, whose wife was wrapping cotton around a toothpick to clean the baby’s ears. I hear on the news that some people still use them for that.
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But it’s not a good idea. A new study found that 34 people go to the ER every day for injuries caused by the swabs.
So please stop using ear swabs on your ears! It’s dangerous, but also you’re wasting a tool that can be used for so many other things. Dip it in shampoo and it’ll unstick a zipper; it can apply anything from eye shadow to appliance paint.
But even more than that, Q-tips are essential for the day the **** hits the fan. According to the “SensiblePrepper” YouTube channel, there are some jobs only an ear swab can do:
“Keeping your guns clean, getting those spots that are very difficult to get.”
You can also use them to light a campfire.
“Take a little bit of petroleum jelly, coat the tip, and I mean this thing just keeps on burning. The plastic burns as well, so be careful, that can drip down on your fingers.”
But still safer than putting it in your ear. Although he does put it in his eye.
“Take a little bit of water and put it on a Q-tip, and if you get something in your eye — especially like a gnat — you can actually pull this thing out.”
He also uses it to stir his coffee.
In fact, I think it’s safe to say that the Q-tip is the one invention that can be used for pretty much anything — except what it was invented for.
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