The History of the Lint Roller

In 1955, the McKays were getting ready to chaperone a high school dance. In an effort to get lint off his black suit, electrical engineer Nicholas McKay Sr. wrapped masking tape around a cardboard toilet paper roll and used a bent wire hanger as a makeshift handle. McKay’s creation is considered to be the first lint roller. Soon after creating his impromptu invention, he patented what he called the Lint Pic-Up. He also started a company called Helmac — named for his wife, Helen McKay — to produce it. Helen helped guide the company until her death. Later, the couple’s son, McKay Jr., got involved after studying at Harvard Business School in the 1990s and greatly expanded the company’s offerings. Then in 1998, 3M began selling a lint roller that competed with Helmac’s version. As time went on, more companies began selling their own version of the lint roller and the product is widely available today. Lint rollers are especially popular with pet owners and come in a variety of stickiness levels and roller colors. Notably, after much debate, Helmac changed its name to Evercare; the company still exists and continues to produce lint rollers today.