Paper clip

A paper clip (or sometimes paperclip) is a piece of plastic or metal that is used to hold pieces of paper together.

Shape
A paper clip is usually a thin wire in a shape that is wrapped in on itself. It is used to hold two or more pieces of paper together by pressure. Some other kinds of paper clips use two pieces.

The type of wire paper clip that is usually used was never patented. It was first made by The Gem Manufacturing Company sometime during the 1890s. The first time Gem was mentioned was in 1883, but historians do not think this is when they began making paper clips.Petroski, Henry, "From Pins to Paper Clips", The Evolution of Useful Things, Vintage, New York, 1992. The first advertisement for paper clips was in August 1894.History of the Paper Clip, Early Office Museum. The "Gem" name was trademarked in the United States in 1904. The trademark paperwork said that the paper clip had been sold since March 1892.

It has been said A series, episode 8 of QI.Father Gregory Tillett, review of The Pharaoh's Shadow: Travels in Ancient and Modern Egypt by Anthony Sattin , The Glastonbury Review, Edition 104.G. W. Trompf, "Radical Conservatism in Herbert Spencer's Educational Thought", British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Oct., 1969), pp. 267–280. that Herbert Spencer invented the paper clip.

It is proven that the paper clip was well known by 1899. A patent was given that year for a "machine to make wire paper clips" to William Middlebrook on April 27. The drawing in the patent shows a Gem paper clip.Petroski, Henry, "Paper Clips and Design", Invention by Design, Harvard University Press, 1996, p. 17. There are many different kinds of paper clips. Some have pointy ends instead of round ones. Some have a bent end. This was done so that it is easier to put paper in. Some of them have wires with bumps that allow them to hold the paper better. Some paper clips are made to look good. They are sometimes in a triangle or a circle.Petroski, Henry, "Polishing the Gem: A First-Year Design Project". Appendix: A selected list of U.S. Patents for paper clips. Journal of Engineering Education, 1998, p. 449.

Norway's claim
A Norwegian, Johan Vaaler (1866–1910), has sometimes been called the inventor of the paper clip. He was given patents in GermanyApplication dated 12 November 1899, Patentschrift no. 121067, patent granted 6 June 1901 and in the United StatesUS Patent No. 675,761 June 4, 1901 for a paper clip of a different design

After Vaaler died, some Norwegians made a myth that the paper clip was invented by a Norwegian genius. Dictionaries in Norway since the 1950s have said that Vaaler is the inventor of the paper clip."Binders" Aschehougs konversasjonsleksikon, Oslo 1975, vol. 2, p. 695. Dictionaries in other countries sometimes say this now too.

Vaaler was probably given a patent in other countries because patent laws in the 1800s were not as tough as they are today.Petroski, Henry "The Evolution of Artifacts", American Scientist, Volume 80, 1992, p. 416–20. Vaaler worked in a patent office, or place that deals with patents, and could have given himself a patent very easily.Johan Vaaler began working for Bryns Patentkontor in Kristiania in 1892 and was later promoted to office manager, a position he held until his death.

The patents that Vaaler held have since expired.  The Gem paper clip was used around the world, including in Norway. His device did not work as well as the Gem version.  This was because it was hard to put pieces of paper in it, and it did not look as good when there was paper in it.

National symbol
The person who started the Norwegian paper clip myth was a person who worked for Norway's patent office. He visited Germany in the 1920s to get patents for some Norwegian inventions. He came across Vaaler's patent, and did not realize that it was not the same as the Gem paper clip.Vaaler's forgotten German patent was found by patent engineer Halvard Foss of The Norwegian Industrial Property Office (Patenstyret) while looking for patents granted to Norwegians in the German patent office. "I made this discovery known to my colleagues", Foss stated in an interview with the weekly A-magasinet no. 52, 1988 In a pamphlet put out by the patent office in celebration of its first 50 years, he wrote about how Vaaler was the inventor of the paper clip.Foss, Halvard: "Den frittstående oppfinner", Styret for det industrielle rettsvern 50 år, Oslo 1961, p. 190 This was put into many Norwegian encyclopedias after World War II.

The war helped make the paper clip into a national symbol. Some Norwegian patriots wore them on the outside of their clothing as a symbol of resistance to the German occupiers and local Nazi rulers when they were not allowed to protest. Soon, the Nazi's made wearing them illegal.Bø, Finn: Forbuden frukt (First edition 1945), Oslo 1995, 

The first Norwegian encyclopedia did mention it as a symbol of resistance, but did not call it a Norwegian invention.Aschehougs konversasjonsleksikon, supplementsbind, Oslo 1952 According to the encyclopedia, the idea started in France.Aschehougs konversasjonsleksikon, Oslo 1974, Vol. 2, p. 695.

After the war, Norway believed the paper clip was a national symbol. Authors of books on the history of Norwegian technology used its status to make their stories bigger. The did not mention that Vaaler's clip was not the same as the Gem clip.Hesstvedt, Ola: "Den lille norske hjelperen fyller 90 år", A-magasinet nr. 52, 1988 In 1989, a big paper clip, almost 7 meters tall was put up in a college near Oslo in honor of Vaaler. The monument is a Gem paper clip, and not the one that was patented by Vaaler. In 1999, 100 years after the German patent was accepted, Norway celebrated by making a postage stamp that had a paper clip on it. However, it was once again the Gem paper clip in the stamp. In 2005, there was a Norwegian biography written about Johan Vaaler, 'The inventor of the paper clip.'"Vaaler, Johan", Norsk biografisk leksikon, Kunnskapsforlaget, Oslo 2005. Vol. 9, p. 411, 

Other uses
Paper clips are usually made out of wire. A paper clip can be useful when working with many things, like computers. The metal wire can be made straight with a little bit of work. Some things have buttons that cannot be reached by fingers if the people who make the device do not want users pressing them accidentally. Most CD-ROM drives have small buttons like this to eject the CD-ROM if there is not any power. A paper clip bent into a 'U' shape can be used to create a short circuit to start a computer if there is no power button.

Kyle MacDonald took one red paperclip and traded it for a house. He began with a red paper clip and posted it on craigslist, trading it for a pen. MacDonald kept trading things until he finally traded a movie role for a two-story house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.one red paperclip

Paper clips can be used to pick a lock. Usually, professional lock picking tools are used, because most paper clips are not strong enough for this use.

Other holding devices
Treasury tag
Staple (fastener)
Binder clip
Bulldog clip
Rope
Brass fastener

 Notes 

 References
 Petroski, Henry. The Evolution of Useful Things. New York: Knopf, 1992. . Includes a comprehensive history of the evolution of paper clip design.

Other websites

 History of the Paper Clip
 The Paper Clip Project 
 Classroom Holocaust Museum 
Patents
—Paper clip—E. P. Bugge

Category:Tools