Ezra Peter Koontz, my great-great grandfather, did more that patent a rocking chair (see prior post). As indicated in the above advertisement for his furniture and bedding store in Ligonier, Indiana, he was a cabinet maker by trade. Once in a while, it became necessary to address the practical needs of the times. So, on May 15, 1888, E. P. Koontz took out a patent for an implement for exterminating rodents:

Based on the drawings for this device, Grandfather Koontz had a real dislike for rodents of all kinds. One good whack and it would be a goner. In the text, it is called out to help eradicate moles. Was my great-great grandfather the true inventor of Whack-a-Mole? Where are the family royalties?