Many of the things that were invented between 1900 and 1940 are so c ommonplace these days that we hardly even think about them.
Take for example, the fly swatter.
As June is busting out all over our great state of Texas, we all find ourselves doing anything and everything that we can to win the war over flying insects.
Although flies have always been an unwanted guest to our homes and parties, the flyswatters that we all take for granted today were not even available until the early 20th century.
Why the early 20th Century?
Because this is perhaps the first time Americans took a good look at reality.
Public health awareness campaigns and new inventions were slowly changing our country, and the health of its citizens, for the better.
No more empty sewage being emptied into public streets!!!
Indoor plumbing!!!
So how long did is finally take people to realize that attaching a small four-inch piece of mesh to a two-foot long handle could help get rid of masty gnats?
And did someone actually receive a patent for this invention?
Yes.
In 1900, Robert R. Montgomery received the patent for a “fly-killer,” the first wire-mesh device specifically designed for killing flies.
Within the next two years, Montgomery and his sons produced over half a million models of his “King Fly Killer.”
The following year, he sold this patent to John L. Bennett, a wealthy inventor and industrialist, who began mass-producing these wire-mesh fly killers and making further improvements on the design.
But the fly swatter was still not called a “fly swatter” until 1906.
That year Samuel Crumbine, a physician serving as the Kansas Secretary of Public Health, began a campaign to help people realize the importance of personal hygiene and disease prevention.
This campaign was primary focused on killing flies.
His source of inpiration for the word “flyswatter” was the cheers of local fans at a softball game in Topeka. The crowd’s pleas to “Swat the Ball” soon became “Swat the Fly”…
And the rest is history.
As are the flies (hopefully)…
Bless Her Heart 
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