Fuzzy tipped paper sticks

Q-tips are ridiculous... honestly. First of all, how did they even come up with that name? Where does the "Q" come from? There's cotton at the end of the tip, C-Tip seems way more appropriate (though that sounds really dirty). Ridiculous. I decided to turn to the highly reliable website, Wikipedia, and found this little piece of information:

" The cotton swab was invented in the 1920s by Leo Gerstenzang^[1] after he attached wads of cotton to toothpicks.^[2] His product, which he named "Baby Gays", went on to become the most widely sold brand name, "Q-tip", with the Q standing for "quality". The term "Q-tip" is often used as a genericized trademark for cotton swabs in the USA. Although doctors have said for years that usage of the cotton swab for ear cleaning is not safe, that use remains the most common."

Leo, why did you name them "Baby Gays"? That makes no sense. How it turned into "Quality Tips" is really just as absurd. Unfortunately for us, Wiki didn't have an answer to that question.

As for the use of the QT, I use them for my ears. I don't know anyone who doesn't use them for their ears. The reason doctors tell you not to do that? It's USER ERROR. People like to jam the QT in their ear and damage their ear drum. Do people not know how to be gentle?! I don't understand how it's not common sense to approach with gentle care. Still, like most companies here in the great US, they have to protect their asses from being sued due to the idiocy of people and therefore QT are officially NOT for cleaning your ears.

So what are they for? This is taken directly from the QT website:

1. Family care. "Q-tips^® are convenient family care tools for those hard-to-reach places." 

Okay, family + QT + hard to reach places = somewhere I don't want to go. I don't know what they are thinking but nothing I can think of seems kosher.

2. Home care. "Q-tips^® cotton swabs are perfect when you want to clean anything down to the last detail. They are a great tool to use anywhere around the house, from cleaning to touching up in those tiny hard-to reach places."

Really? This makes using a tooth brush to clean the kitchen counters seem like a dream. Think of all the coverage it gets compared to a QT!

3. Art projects. "Perfect for experts and even art novices, Q-tips^® cotton swabs are perfect for any art project. Whether creating a child’s masterpiece or doing touch-ups on delicate paintings"

That's what paintbrushes are for. Bottom line. Unless I am going to use my QT as my poor man's version of Lincoln Logs, I can't imagine any art project that these are essential.