WHY I LOVE ME: EARS TO YOU, CHESTER GREENWOOD

Winter will be soon upon us. Nor'easters, blizzards, Alberta clippers, and ice storms. Bring it on, baby 'cause Chester Greenwood's greatest invention is gonna help keep me nice and toasty warm despite the crap that bitch, Mother Nature, throws our way.

Chester Greenwood was born in 1858 and was one of six kids growing up on a farm in Farmington, ME where winters are colder than a well digger's butt. A grammar school dropout, Chester went on to fame and fortune with one of his greatest inventions: ear muffs.

In the winter of 1873, Chester got a new pair of ice skates. While trying out the skates on Abbott Pond, Chester's ears got painfully cold He tried wrapping a wool scarf around them but it was just too bulky and itchy. This got 15-year-old Chester so PO'd he went home and made two ear-shaped loops out of farm wire. He then asked his grammy to sew some fur over them. Chester chose beaver fur on the outside and black velvet for the surface that touched the ears. They became known as the Greenwood's Champion Ear Protectors and they were a hit around Farmington.


Chester wasn't happy, though. He knew some refinements had to be made for a better ear protector. He tried flat spring steel instead of the farm wire, which proved to be a huge improvement. The Ear Protectors were sturdier, stayed in place and could be coiled up and stuffed in a pocket when not in use.

At the age of 18, Chester got his Ear Protectors patented (U.S. No. 188,292 issued March 13, 1877). Now the world was his. He established The Shop, a factory in West Farmington where Greenwood's Champion Ear Protectors were manufactured. As success continued, Chester expanded to a building on Front Street in downtown Farmington where he had more than 20 full-time employees whipping out those snazzy
Ear Protectors. By 1883 Chester's factory was producing 30,000 Ear Protectors a year. By 1936 he achieved an annual output of 400,000 Ear Protectors.

Chester supplied his Ear Protectors to WWI U.S. soldiers and made himself a fortune. As manufacturing became automated, Chester still knew that human hands were needed to stitch those Ear Protectors. A cottage industry formed with the locals taking home piecework. Chester's Champion Ear Protectors became a great source of income during hard times in the Farmington area.

Don't think Chester became a slacker after making a fortune in cold ears. He went on to receive more than 130 patents for such things as the Mechanical Cat (decoy mouse trap), spark plug improvements, his own shock absorber, a special hook for taking doughnuts out of boiling oil, and the Greenwood Tempered Steel Rake.

In 1977, the Maine Legislature declared the first day of winter, December 21, Chester Greenwood Day. This year the town of Farmington will celebrate Greenwood on December 5 with a parade, where earmuffs must be a part of the theme for each float, a gingerbread house contest, a chili contest, horse and buggy rides, the Polar Bear Club swim, a craft fair and more.

Cool, huh? A 15-year-old's cold ears resulted in one of the greatest contributions to cold weather protection ever.

Now do you love ME?


CREDITS:

Claire, Chief Research Editor

The Irregular

Idea Finder.com

Today In Science History

About.com Inventors

Idiotic cat photo: FunnyCatSite
Ice Storm Photo: Google, of course