Quartz writer, Lisa Selin Davis wanted to know why every newborn she saw posted in Facebook and other social media were wrapped in the same blanket in the hospital.
So she did some research and wrote a piece about it.
In short, in the 1950s, most receiving blankets that most hospitals used were dull beige. That was until Arkansas inventor A.L. Mills, with consultation of the women who worked in his Illinois-based healthcare supply company, Medline, came up with a white blanket with a blue-and pink-striped trim and starting selling them to hospital maternity wards.
They were a hit!
Eventually, 99% of all newborns were wrapped in the identical blanket that was good enough for boy or girl. It was part of the Kuddle-Up line, and though it sold other patterns, the Candy Stripe variation gets the most orders every year.
The Health Alliance Hospital in Kingston, NY, for example, purchased over 2,000 last year and uses up to 5 on each newborn.
Read more and see other Social Media pics of newborns swaddled in the blankets over at QZ.com
