Earmuff trivia: it was originally invented by a 5-year-old

Chester greenwood, 5, of farmington, Maine, invented earmuffs in 1874.

The boy liked winter very much, but he did not seem to have a particular liking for woolly hats, which made his skin itch. However, if he doesn’t wear a hat, it will make his ears feel very cold in winter. Once, he came home from an ice rink, picked up a wire along the way, made a prototype of a modern ear mask from that wire, and asked his grandmother to sew fabric between the coils.

The boy’s idea was so successful that he was granted a patent for the earmuffs three years later. In honor of his service, Maine declared December 21 Chester greenwood day, and farmington held an annual earmups parade.