The countable noun q-tip was coined by Leo Gerstenzang as a brand name for the first mass-produced cotton swabs, created to solve a problem new parents often had. The “Q” stands for “Quality”. Leo and his wife Ziuta were, however, not the first US patent holders for the invention. US Patent #1652108 is instead held by Hazel Tietjen Forbis, who filed for it in 1925.

The Gerstenzangs bought out Hazel and her entire NYC-based (on 36th St, no less) cotton swab manufacturing operation. They changed the brand name from her original “Baby Nose-Gays” to “Q-tips Baby Gays” in 1926, and then just “Q-tips” before 1933. Nosegay appears to be an archaic word from the 1470s for a bouquet of good-smelling flowers. It seems to be only an outdated word in 1926, so Hazel was possibly alluding to that?

It’s fascinating how little information there is about Hazel on the internet. Mark Dominus suspects this may be because if she were married, all her records would be under her married name, which would have been Mrs. Husbandsfirstname Husbandslastname by convention at the time.