In 1911, the author's father came up with an invention that helped a doctor to solve a big problem. Read the story to learn about the invention and then answer the questions that follow.

1 It was the bottom of the ninth inning, and the score was tied at 2 to 2. Wichita was in the field, and Topeka had a runner on third and one out. Excited fans began yelling, "Sacrifice fly! Sacrifice fly!" The batter swung at the next pitch-and missed. The chanting grew to a roar and changed to, "Swat that ball! Swat that ball!"

2 Dr. Samuel Crumbine, head of the Kansas State Board of Health, was in the stands. All at once he pulled an envelope from his pocket and quickly scrawled "Swat the Fly" on it. Then he rushed back to his office without even
waiting to see who won the game!

3 All that was on his mind was the next copy of the Fly Bulletin. Soon people all over Topeka saw fliers and posters with the words SWAT THE FLY.

4 Since 1906 Dr. Crumbine had worked to limit the spread of the deadly disease typhoid. Typhoid epidemics were common in those years, and the doctor was convinced that flies were the culprits. Few houses had window screens, and the windows were usually left open to let in cool air. He believed the flies transmitted the disease when they flew from the outhouses and landed on the food on the kitchen tables.

5 Dr. Crumbine racked his brain for months to figure out a way to get rid of the insects. He handed out fliers warning of the dangers of typhoid and flies, but few people paid attention. One day Dr. Crumbine decided to cheer himself up by going to a baseball game. When he heard the crowd chanting, he knew he had the solution.


6 Newspapers picked up the slogan "Swat the Fly" and over the next few months it traveled all over Kansas. My dad, Frank H. White, was a schoolteacher and Scout-master in Weir City, Kansas. He read about Dr. Crumbine's campaign and got an idea.

7 He bought some wooden yard-sticks and wire screen. Then he had his Boy Scouts saw the yardsticks in half, cut the screen in small squares, and nail each piece to the yardsticks. The Scouts called them "fly bats," and they gave two fly bats to every house in town for Dr. Crumbine's "Swat the Fly" campaign.

8 Right after this, my dad presented Dr. Crumbine with one of the fly bats. The doctor instantly saw what a great idea it was, but he wasn't sure about the name. Then he remembered the baseball game. With a smile, the doctor said, "Let's call it a fly swatter."

9 The popularity of both the slogan and the new invention quickly spread across the country and eventually around the world. Many believe the fly swatter was instrumental in decreasing the spread of fly-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera.

10 The success of the campaign helped make Dr. Crumbine famous. From then on, he was known to doctors everywhere as "Swat the Fly" Crumbine.