The Maine Teen Who Saved Your Ears from Freezing Off

We’ve all been there—bundled up for winter, feeling relatively warm… except for those two body parts that refuse to cooperate: your ears and your nose. Your ears? Frozen solid. Your nose? Dripping like a leaky faucet. Winter in New England is a cruel beast.

But back in 1873, a 15-year-old from Farmington, Maine, decided he was done suffering. Enter Chester Greenwood, the teenage genius who invented earmuffs and unknowingly changed winter fashion forever.

Legend has it that Greenwood got sick of his ears practically falling off in the brutal Maine cold. Instead of just complaining (like the rest of us), he actually did something about it. He bent some wire into a headband and according to the Washington Post, he had his grandmother sew flannel or beaver fur (depends on which version of the story you believe) onto the ends. Boom—instant ear protection.

Naturally, his friends laughed at him. Because, let’s be real, a kid walking around with fur-covered wires wrapped around his head was a little... different. But once they realized Chester’s weird head contraption actually worked, those same friends were the first ones asking where they could get a pair. Greenwood patented his invention that same year, and before long, earmuffs were everywhere—saving ears and preserving hairdos across the globe. They even evolved into a fashion trend.

And what about that other body part that turns to ice? Your poor nose. I looked it up, and yes, "nose warmers" exist. And yes, they look exactly as ridiculous as you'd imagine... maybe that's why they never caught on?

Not bad for a small-town Maine kid who just wanted to stop getting frostbite, huh?