On this day in 1915 Elmer Quick was granted the patent for Cow’s Tail Holder. U.S. Patent No. 1,140,186.
This invention relates to the milking of cows, and the main object thereof is to so secure the tail of a cow that the cow may not switch its tail in an effort to rid itself of insects, such as flies, mosquitos, gnats, etc.; as is well known, strenuous efforts are being made in all civilized countries to inaugurate and maintain thoroughly sanitary conditions in dairies, whereby the milk may be shielded from any possible contamination, and it is equally well known that cows switch their tails continually, either to brush off flies and the like, or from a nervous habit, and this tends to brush foreign matter, such as dirt, dust, and the like into the pail during milking, particularly when the tail is filled with the filth of the yard or pasture, and it was in order to prevent such milk contamination that this invention was conceived.
