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Southampton resident Betty Birnbaum has created a new product to make kitchen chores easier.
Betty Birnbaum creates Ms. Wiggley after years of using her fingers to navigate hard to navigate crevasses while cleaning.
Southampton resident Betty Birnbaum may be almost 80 but that hasn’t stopped her from inventing a new product.
With her 80th birthday just weeks away, Southampton resident Betty Birnbaum has big plans. But, unlike many of her peers, Ms. Birnbaum isn’t organizing a simple family party or a quiet trip to Florida—instead, the spirited dynamo is embarking on a new business venture.
During the waning years, when many seniors opt to put their feet up, Ms. Birnbaum is busier than many 20-somethings, organizing video shoots and marketing for her brand new kitchen gadget, “Ms. Wiggley,” a hand-held tool that she says peels, cores, opens CD packages, scrapes decals off car windows, removes wax from furniture and cleans a plethora of kitchen and bathroom appliances—all without chipping a nail.
Ms. Wiggley is a small black gadget made of hard nylon that fits in the palm of a hand. Although it has no blade, Ms. Wiggley is very bendable, pliable and flexible, with a series of irregular edges that lets it get into the most hard to reach places, such as the bottom of a glass, or around a candlestick.
“It looks like nothing, and does everything,” Ms. Birnbaum said. “It does so many things, it’s ridiculous. One tool does over 1,000 things.”
Ms. Birnbaum, who will turn 80 on March 22, was inspired to design her creation after she found herself always needing to use her fingers to navigate hard-to-reach crevasses while cleaning. “I decided I was going to make a finger,” she said.
When she was designing her product, Ms. Birnbaum first used cardboard to cut out the shape of the gadget. Next, injection molding was used to create the device, which does the work of an actual finger without wear and tear on hands or manicures.
Ms. Wiggley, Ms. Birnbaum said, “has a series of different edges and grooves that performs wonders when she moves. And while she performs in a special way, she protects your nails throughout the day. It’s a fabulous tool,” she said.
Ms. Birnbaum’s invention is expected to retail for a price of $4.95 for one or $5.95 for two, and will be available in local stores soon.
It’s never too late to pursue a dream, Ms. Birnbaum said. “If you never give up on things you want to do, you’re going to last much longer. I don’t think life is anything, unless you have something to look forward to.”
Currently working with East Hampton videographer Frank Vespe on the final version of a promotional YouTube web video, which is also slated to debut soon as a television commercial, Ms. Birnbaum cuts a colorful figure in her bright red newsboy cap and infectious smile.
“She wiggles her way through dirt and grime, getting the job done in half the time,” Ms. Birnbaum said, reciting her product’s jingle. “While sponges become homes where germs will play, Miss Wiggley helps to drive them all away.”
The launching of Ms. Birnbaum’s new product is the latest turn in a long and colorful career. Born in 1932 in The Bronx, Ms. Birnbaum was raised in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Always interested in performing, she produced “Go Go With Betty” shows—evenings of entertainment at local churches and other organizations where she taught audiences how to dance, using an array of props and a wealth of improvisation.
She was the social director at an apartment complex called Brighton Towers and also performed at the local YWCA and in the Catskills.
Later, Ms. Birnbaum led the glittering life of a theatrical agent, with a star-studded lineup of clients including Tom Cruise and several television personalities. She also sang in her brother Dr. Alexander Matos’s band.
“I was always very creative,” Ms. Birnbaum said. “I was building furniture out of cardboard boxes when I was 8 years old.”
After moving to Southampton in 1975 with her second husband, Arthur Birnbaum, who died 10 years ago after the couple were married for 40 years, she penned, directed, and produced a children’s play. She also writes political poetry.
Most recently, Ms. Birnbaum has been working on an exercise book for seniors, tentatively titled “Take It Off In Bed.” The book will teach seniors how to exercise in bed and will be written in rhyme.
Susan Saperstein, Ms. Birnbaum’s daughter—her other daughter, Robin Lynn Saperstein, died when the young woman was only 27—said growing up with her mother was never boring.
“It was an adventure, because you never knew what was coming,” Ms. Saperstein said. “She always had something up her sleeve.”
Her mother always included her loved ones in her latest adventures, said Ms. Saperstein, including her grandchildren, Jennifer Blitz and Richard Blitz, in later years.
Her grandchildren, Ms. Birnbaum said, have helped her with the computer, with the infomercial, and have listened over the years as she read versions of her various projects to them. “I always involved the whole family,” Ms. Birnbaum said.
Of her mother’s invention, Ms. Saperstein said, “I think it’s a winner product—it just has to get out there. And my mother is the type of person who is not one to give up.”
Mr. Vespe was looking for a new project when he met Ms. Birnbaum and was captivated by her infectious enthusiasm.
“Her energy level is so high,” he said. “She has so many good ideas. I applaud a senior who is 80 years old trying to do something that’s out of the box.”
Potential clients, Mr. Vespe added, will be charmed not only by her invention, but by Ms. Birnbaum’s engaging personality. “She can sell anything,” he said.
