Farmington honors earmuff inventor today

FARMINGTON — It’s earmuff day in this western Maine town.

Farmington is holding its annual Chester Greenwood Day festivities today to pay tribute to the man who invented earmuffs back in 1873 to protect his sensitive ears from the cold.

Festivities include a parade, a chili contest, a flag-raising, an auction and other events. Townspeople and visitors will be decked out in earmuffs, and oversized pairs of the protectors will adorn fire engines, police cars and other vehicles.

Most famous for his earmuffs, Greenwood is also credited with inventing dozens of other devices, including a mechanical mouse trap, a shock absorber, a new type of spark plug, a wide-bottom kettle and a folding bed.