A Special presentation of Sultnpapper > Have you got your feather duster handy?

Several years ago I had the opportunity to play in a corporate golf outing up in Wisconsin, Geneva Lake to be precise about the location, to be a little more precise it was at the Playboy Club there. We have a whole bunch of beautiful women here in Texas that is a fact, but when it comes to a concentration of beautiful women in one little spot I have to say that Geneva Lake and the Playboy club is the winner, hands down.

Long before Hugh Hefner decided to build his club Geneva Lake was popular for being the home of something else that dates back to the mid 1870’s and is still very popular today. I think that Hugh Hefner may have decided to build his place at Lake Geneva because it was home to the feather duster.

The feather duster that we know today was invented by a woman named Susan Hibbard, or at least that is the claim that was she had made on her application that she filed with the U.S. Patent Office. How many of you have used a feather duster? How many of you believe it was designed to remove dust that had collected on things? How many of you have heard of George Hibbard?

George Hibbard invented the first sex toy so speak. He took some turkey feathers and a piece of wood; using some twine he then secured the feathers to the wood by wrapping them with twine. Foreplay was a task for George so he created this device to stimulate and arouse old Susan in the bedroom by lightly touching her with the feathers in places that it would create some magical sensations if you know what I mean. Pure genius on the part of George, why not be creative, it is what life is about isn’t it?

While George wasn’t around the house Susan had her own uses for the toy, self pleasure could be one, but she had also discovered another. She found that the feathers were very effective and removing dust from things sitting on shelves, so when she wasn’t using George’s invention on her body she was using it to remove dust from things around the house. It is amazing how such a simple device could be so useful for so many people.

But the device being so useful for both purposes created a dilemma and a family disagreement. George had visions of patenting the sex toy and selling the pleasures it could create. Susan on the other hand didn’t want folks knowing what was going on in their bedroom, things like that weren’t being discussed in public in the 1870’s. What goes on behind closed doors should remain behind closed doors in Susan’s mind.

So without her husband’s knowledge old Susan beat a path to the US Patent office and applied for a patent on the device that she said she invented. The use was to remove dust from items on shelves without having to wash and dry them. The thing about George was that he had trouble keeping his mouth shut, you tell one friend what you’re doing, he tells another and before you know it a company is bound to pop up selling your invention. Loose lips sinks ships, Georges boat was sinking and he didn’t even know it. Turkey feathers, wood, and twine were fast becoming popular among George’s circle of friends.

Susan was awarded a patent on the feather duster in November of 1874, George’s marketing plans and dreams were crushed, stomped out by the woman who had enjoyed the pleasures of the feathers. To complicate matters even further Susan wasn’t the greatest keeper of secrets either before she had gained her patent. So a company named National Feather Duster Company had come into existence, and was selling the device for the purposes that Susan intended the device to be used.

A three way,( sounds funny saying it like that), legal battle ensued between Susan, George and the National Feather Duster Company, each claiming that they should be the rightful patent holder. The case was ultimately decided by the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Chicago in 1881, Susan Hibbard was given priority control of the patent. George’s wife wasn’t about to testify on George’s behalf and his claims of how the device created sexual arousal of the female body. She did have her witnesses that could verify her time line on the device and how effective it was at removing dust. The court bought her story and the rest is history, Susan could rest assured that the bedroom benefits of the feather duster would never be told in order to sell the device.

One thing I did notice on that trip to the Playboy club, besides the beautiful young ladies, all the young ladies doing the housekeeping services wore French maid outfits and had feather dusters in their aprons. Each room had a feather duster in the restroom also, feather dusters were everywhere if you happened to notice things like that, I didn’t notice on my own, but a local there at the club was nice enough to point it out to me and share the story. I have to believe old Hugh Hefner knew the true purpose of the feather duster and decided to locate his resort there as a tribute to the device and the true use of it as George intended.

So the next time you happen to see someone using a feather duster you will at least know the history and purpose behind the invention. You may want to pick up a couple for your house now that you know what the real intended use was.

If this story doesn’t tickle your ass, get a feather duster.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper