Pull it together

December 16, 2004 7:17 PM

It shakes me that something as prosaic and taken for granted as a paper clip was once an innovation. Someone actually invented it. It revolutionized. It evolved. At one point, it became a political symbol strong enough to warrant arrest. Eventually, it became something so ho-hum that it could be artistic, profound. In short, it became indispensable -- er, ubiquitous. Before I die, I would like to visit a paper clip factory.
posted by mudpuppie (23 comments total)

That having been said, I've never really thought about the history of the paperclip, so I hope to see a corrected post on this topic, as I am too lazy to edit each URL.
posted by cmonkey at 7:26 PM on December 16, 2004

It shakes me that something as prosaic and taken for granted as a paper clip was once an innovation. Someone actually invented it. It revolutionized. It evolved. At one point, it became a political symbol strong enough to warrant arrest. Eventually, it became something so ho-hum that it could be artistic, profound. In short, it became indispensable -- er, ubiquitous. Before I die, I would like to visit a paper clip factory.

Hopefully that works.
posted by ALongDecember at 7:27 PM on December 16, 2004

Nope. Lazy cut and paste.

And now that song is stuck in my head.

But I think this was a pretty good post and am feeling a bit cheated by my own stupdity!
posted by mudpuppie at 7:38 PM on December 16, 2004

"I ... am feeling a bit cheated by my own stupdity!"

As we all are. By the stupIdity, that is.

But the post was great, other than that.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:42 PM on December 16, 2004

Before I die, I would like to visit a paper clip factory.

Milhouse: Do any of these boxes have candy in them?
Guide: No.
Milhouse: Will they ever?
Guide: No, we only make boxes to ship other, smaller boxes. Any other questions?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:03 PM on December 16, 2004

I, myself, have a grand and glorious paper clip collection in a rainbow of colors. I'm going to sell them to finance my retirement.
To Roy G. Biv.
Better than Social Security.
posted by Floydd at 8:06 PM on December 16, 2004

If you find this interesting, Henry Petroski's The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are is a good read. Paper clips only get a portion of one chapter, but you'll never look the same way at a 3 or 4-tined fork again after reading the book.
posted by kreinsch at 8:16 PM on December 16, 2004

Someone actually invented it.
...but maybe not Vaaler.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:13 PM on December 16, 2004

hey, mudpuppie ... thanks so much for helping make it obscure inventor day here on Metafilter. I look forward to posts tomorrow about Robert Adler, Carl Magee, Ermal Fraze, Mary Phelps Jacob, and Frank Zamboni.

[this is good]
posted by anastasiav at 9:18 PM on December 16, 2004

I will give $20 bucks to anyone who posts on the above mentioned inventors tomorrow,if I feel like it.
posted by crusiera at 9:27 PM on December 16, 2004

thats right $20 bucks is the new way to type it folks. COMPLY NOW.
posted by crusiera at 9:29 PM on December 16, 2004

On topic: Paper Clips are useful thingies. Thank you fr the invention.
posted by crusiera at 9:30 PM on December 16, 2004

sorry for the typos and bad grammer. Oh boy will this be on metatalk tomorrow
posted by crusiera at 9:32 PM on December 16, 2004

Great post... Thanks!
(oh, and if you were wondering what to get me for Christmas... hint hint)
posted by numlok at 9:41 PM on December 16, 2004

I will give $20 bucks to anyone who posts on the above mentioned inventors tomorrow,if I feel like it.
Cheapskate. I wll do it for $200 bucks, if you feel like it.
If I feel like it.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:06 PM on December 16, 2004

Fantastic Post. I love learning about the history of everyday objects that we take for granted.

WGP: if you could add my hero, Joseph Regenstein, the guy who invented the plastic window in envelopes, I would bow in praise of your google-foo. I only know him from the U of Chicago Library, and there is precious little else about him on the internets.
posted by Freen at 10:43 PM on December 16, 2004

Hi, it looks like you're typing a letter!
posted by keswick at 10:46 PM on December 16, 2004

Right click.
Hide.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:00 PM on December 16, 2004

Great post, mudpuppie. Here's an amusing little paperclip art gallery that I'll throw into the mix (definitely read the text!), plus this Ultimate List of Uses for a Paper Clip (including one seasonal use that I've found handy myself more than once: "Hang Christmas ornaments").
posted by taz at 3:00 AM on December 17, 2004

that paperclip museum... interesting how many of those designs are still in production. the standard gem and gem + serrations, i'm familiar with. same for the "bunny face" design, and i've occasionally run across the owl clips (often made from plastic these days, it seems). but the ring-shaped clips? crazy. i've not seen those around. and i'm sort of an office supplies geek, too... i once spent over an hour selecting a red pen to use while grading papers.

i really do like the "fold-over" clips meant to pinch the corners of papers together.

incidentally, that reminds me: what's up with temporary paper fastening sans clip or staple these days? when i was in high school, standard procedure was to fold over corner, tear a tab in the fold, and bend the tab in the opposite direction to stick papers together. now my students have demonstrated something new - they roll the corner tightly to hold papers together. i showed this to my wife, and both of us wondered how fold+tear went out of fashion.

thanks for the post, mudpuppie.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:52 AM on December 17, 2004

I remember using the "fold and tear" technique for holding papers together.
posted by kartooner at 6:12 AM on December 17, 2004

I remember using the "fold and tear" technique

remember? I STILL do that...
posted by kamylyon at 7:22 AM on December 17, 2004

I like the sound of Twenty Dollar Bucks.
posted by hughbot at 8:21 AM on December 17, 2004