Paper clip

For other uses, see Paper clip (disambiguation).

Small metal paperclip

Another example of a paperclip.

A paper clip (spelled both as two separate words and as one compound word) is a device which holds several sheets of paper together by means of pressure: it leaves the paper intact and can be easily removed.

Shape and composition

It is usually a thin wire bent into a looped shape that takes advantage of the elasticity and strength of the materials of its construction (usually steel or some other metal, but sometimes plastic) to compress and therefore hold together two or more pieces of paper by means of torsion.

History

The first patent for something similar to a paper clip was awarded to Samuel B Fay of the United States in 1867. It was designed to fasten labels to garments and textiles, but was also marketed as a paper clip. In 1877 his compatriot Erlman J. Wright patented the first device explicitly designed as a paper clip, resembling present models. Several new US patents followed during the last decades of the 19th century.

The most common type of wire paper clip still in use was never patented, but it was probably in production in Britain as early as 1890 by "The Gem Manufacturing Company". An advertisement for Gem clips in 1899 referred to a patent, but this has never been documented. The American expert on technological innovations, professor Henry J. Petroski, has seen the Gem mentioned as early as 1883, but this may refer to some other product from the same British factory. The "Gem" name was registered as a trade mark in the United States in 1904, and the application stated that the product -- if it was in fact a paper clip -- had been on the market since March 1892. Paper clips are still sometimes called "Gem clips", and in Swedish the word for any paper clip is "gem".

Definite proof that the modern type of paper clip was well known in 1899 at the latest is the patent granted to William Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut on April 27 of that year for a "Machine for making wire paper clips". The drawing clearly shows that the product is a perfect clip of the Gem type. Since then countless variations on the same theme have been patented. Some have pointed instead of rounded ends, some have the end of one loop bent to make it easier to insert sheets of paper, and some have wires with undulations or barbs to get a better grip. In addition, purely aesthetic variants have been patented, clips with triangular or round shapes. But the original Gem type has for more than a hundred years proved to be the most practical, and consequently by far the most popular. Its qualities of easy use, gripping without tearing, and storing without tangling have been difficult to improve on.

Recent innovations include multi-colored plastic-coated paper clips and spring-fastened binder clips.

Norwegian claim

A Norwegian, Johan Vaaler (1866-1910), has erroneously been identified as the inventor of the paper clip. He was granted patents in Germany (1899) and in the United States (1901) for a paper clip of similar design, but less functional and practical, because it lacked the last turn of the wire. Vaaler probably did not know that a better product was already on the market, although not yet in Norway. His version was never manufactured and never marketed because the superior "Gem" was already available.

Long after Vaaler's premature demise his countrymen created a national myth based on the false assumption that the ubiquitous paper clip was invented by an unrecognised Norwegian genius. That myth has also found its way into much of the international literature on paper clips.

Vaaler probably succeeded in having his design patented abroad, despite the previous existence of a better product, because patent authorities at that time were quite liberal and rewarded any marginal modification of existing inventions. As the employee of a patent office, he could easily have obtained a patent in Norway. His reasons for applying abroad are not known to us, but it is possible that he had an exaggerated confidence in his own invention and wanted to secure the commercial rights internationally. Also, he may have been aware that Norwegian inventors would meet difficulties on the small home market. In any case, he must soon have had the disappointment of his life, whether he tried to attract interest from potential manufacturers, or because he was confronted by the "gem" before he got that far.

Vaaler's patents expired quietly, while the "gem" conquered the world, including his own country. The failure of his design was obvious -- it was too impractical. Without the two full loops of the fully developed paper clip, it was difficult to insert sheets of paper into his clip. One could manipulate the end of the inner wire so that it could receive the sheet, but the outer wire was a dead end because it could not exploit the torsion principle. The clip would instead stand out like a keel, perpendicular to the sheet of paper. The impracticality of Vaaler's design may easily be demonstrated by cutting off the last outer loop and one long side from a regular gem clip.

The Paper Clips Project

Johan Vaaler's fame as the paper clip inventor has spread world-wide, especially in the United States. In spite of recent findings by Henry Petroski and others, many websites still present this piece of misinformation. The myth has also ramified. When eighth-graders at Whitwell Middle School in Tennessee were to learn about the murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust, one teacher had the good idea of illustrating that mind-boggling number by collecting as many small and cheap objects. According to one website, the paper clip was chosen "after they learned (that) Norwegians wore them on their clothes to show support for Jews during World War II". Another site elaborates this story even further: "That symbol of resistance originally honored Johann Vaaler, the Norwegian Jew who invented the paper clip". None of these statements are true. Vaaler was not a Jew, he did not invent the common paper clip, and Norwegians who wore them did not do so to protest the tragic fate of the Jews, but to show loyalty to the King and the Government. But the project was a success -- far more than the required 6 million clips were collected.

During promotion of the film www.paperclipsmovie.com which documents the middle school project the films promoters contacted and partnered with Baumgarten's Office Products in Atlanta, GA. Baumgarten's, b3.net is the company that manufacturs plastiklips and other fastening devices, constructed displays made of green plastic paper clips shaped into the Star of David to assist with the films promotion at theaters around the USA. Hans Baumgarten, Baumgarten's treasurer and his family of Jewish descent, left Nazi Germany, avoiding death camps. This gave the company plenty of impetus to collaborate with the film-maker.

Interestingly, Baumgarten's Platiklip is a German invention by the German inventor Kurt Lorber who has been partners with the Baumgarten's since WWII.

Other uses

Paper clips can be bent into a crude but effective lockpick. A paper clip is also a useful accessory in computing: the metal wire can be unfolded with a little force. Several devices call for a very thin rod to push a recessed button which the user might only rarely need. This is seen on most CD-ROM drives as an "emergency eject" should the power fail; also on early disk drives (including the early Macintosh). Some Palm PDAs advise the use of a paper clip to reset the device. The track ball can be removed from early Logitech pointing devices using a paperclip as the key to the bezel. A paper clip bent into a "U" can be used to start an ATX PSU without connecting it to a Motherboard (connect the green to a black on the Motherboard header). One or more paperclips can make a loopback device for a RS232 interface (or indeed many interfaces). A paperclip could be installed in a Commodore 1541 disk-drive as a flexible head-stop. Paperclips have been used (unsafely) to replace fuses.

Paperclips in popular culture

• The world's largest paper clip, measuring in at 6 metres, was constructed in 1998 in Amherst, Nova Scotia. It took 6 months and over one ton of steel to forge. It was purchased in 2001 by weatlhy venture capitalist, Maggie Ledwell, and can now be viewed in Boston, Massachusetts.

• In the Microsoft Office software package, the default form of the infamous Office Assistant is an anthropomorphic version of a paper clip called "Clippit" or "Clippy".

• In July 2005, a man named Kyle MacDonald started the "one red paperclip" website. He started with one red paperclip and traded it for various objects until he eventually acquired a house in July 2006.

Other fastening devices

• Treasury tag
• India tag
• staple
• Binder clip
• Bulldog clip
• Brass fastener
• Clam Clamp

Bibliography

• Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Useful things (1992); ISBN 0-679-74039-2 (with acomprehensive history of the evolution of paper clip design)

External links

• History of the Paper Clip
• The Paper Clip Project
• Paper Clips

Patents

• US3057027 -- Paper clip -- E. P. Bugge