30 amazing facts on your desk

Your average cabinet of office supplies is more fascinating than you think.


There are countless things in your office who probably occupy more than your mental energy as you like: this printer that continues to get out, the coffee maker that never works well, or that the colleague whose eternal acutes make you jumping. Your seat. However, dig a little deeper and you could just realize that there is a fascinating world of fact that you did not know some of the most seemingly worldly articles of your workspace: your office supplies.

In fact, some of the backstories behind the contents of your average desktop supply firm are much more exciting than your bosses to tell their last vacation for the nth time. Stationary rescue adhesives inlaid with jewelry, these desktops could simply feel a little more content in the four walls of your cabin.

1
The aluminum foil can sharpen scissors.

scissors office supply facts

You can have a pencil sharpener at the priority, but a scissor size? Unlikely. Fortunately, there is a simple way to keep these blades as strong as when you brought them home: aluminum sheet. Simply cutting a piece of aluminum foil with your scissors can sharpen their blades in an instant because the cutting process through the metal can actually reduce the amount of rust and other detritus on the blades.

2
The ballpoint pen was inspired by marbles.

Shirt with an ink stain
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Ladislao José Biro, a Hungarian journalist, like many of his contemporaries of the 1930s, looking for an alternative to Fui Fui Pen and unreliable with whom to do his job.

Its first design modeled after the newspaper printing press - was a slight improvement on the feather of the fountain, but because of its cylindrical nature, could only roll backwards or before. Then, one day, Biro fell on a group of children playing a part of marbles. After a marble rolled through a puddle, Broo noticed, he continued to spread water along his way as he rolls. It was exactly the kind of Broo motion sought and suddenly the ballpoint pen was born.

3
The pencils are yellow to remind customers of Chinese royalty.

Woman with Pencil in Mouth Things That Would Horrify Your Dentist

The pencils first started production in the United States in Massachusetts in 1812. It was not 1890, however, that modern pencil and product serial began to take shape. At the time, the graphite of the highest quality - the component of the pencils that allows them to write - was produced only by Chinese mines. To report to their customers that they only used high quality materials, pencil manufacturing companies started to paint their yellow pencils-the color of royalty and respect in traditional Chinese culture. After that, the color has just been stuck.

4
PaperClip was a sign of resistance during the Second World War.

Paper clip
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When Nazis exceeded Norway in the 1940s, the University of Oslo students began to wear paperclips on their reverse - as well as paper bracelets and other homemade facts.jewelry-As a sign of unity and resistance. Because the traditional Norwegian symbols had been banned, the students watched alternative means of displaying solidarity. The paper clip was chosen not only for the symbolism of its ability to link things together, but because it was also wrong to have been invented by a Norwegian,Johan Vaaler, In the early 1900s.

5
The "fat and flat" collapse was created by accident.

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WhenGünter Schwanhäuser From the Schwan Pencil Factory wanted to launch a highlighter with a distinctive form, he asked his designers to propose prototypes. After Schwanhäusser rejected all their ideas, a frustrated designer slammed his first bottom on the table, inadvertently crushing the clay pattern. The result - a big piece of flat clay, then calls on Schwanhäusser that he decided that it would be the form of the final product.

6
The inspiration of modern paper came from nests of wasps.

Paper wasps
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During a walk through the woods,Rene-Antoine Ferchault of reumulur, a French scientist of the 18th century, has discovered a solution to one of his biggest problems. Despite the breakthrough of physics, mathematics and chemistry, Réaumur always had trouble publishing his work - there was simply not enough paper for him to be published on. At the time, the paper was made from rags, a commodity whose demand quickly exceeded its supply. By coming on a nest of wasps in the forest, however, reaumur discovered that wasp - whose thin nest was made of wood pulp - with a glimpse of the possibilities of paper wood. "The American wasps", he told his contemporaries after studying the digestive habits of wasps ", make a very fine paper ... [and] teach us to make plants' fiber paper without the use of rags or linen. "

7
The original pavement was created for a judge who liked to take notes.

an exasperated judge behind the bench

In 1888, the legal pad began to take shape after a young paper machinator namedThomas Holley Had the idea of ​​collecting remnants of paper and sewing them for sale as cheap writing pads. It was not only 1900, however, that the famous oversized stamp took its final form after a local judge requested that the margins be drawn on the left side of each page to accommodate his notes.

8
The first erasure gums were pieces of stale bread.

pieces of stale bread

Before rubber erasers, designers employed pieces of bread gathered to clear unwanted brands. Then one day, an inventor of the 18th century namedEdward NairneOtherwise in the sketch process - accidentally picked up a piece of rubber instead of bread. At the time, it seems that he sold rubber cubes to make a profit. After using rubber anyway, it quickly discovered its erasure properties. Then he started selling the first rubber erasers in the world for the low price of three shillings.

9
The QWERTY keyboard was created to stop the jams of writing machines.

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When the typewriter has been introduced for the first time in 1868, the keyboard has been set up according to the order of the alphabet-a, then B, then C, etc. However, there was a big problem: the keys maintained well because the combinations of commonly used letters - like ST and AB - were placed near the other.

In order to remedy this situation, an educator namedAmos Densmore has come with a new layout that would place combinations of letters commonly used later. Although the distance initially slowed down the speed of typographers, the decrease in key traffic jams actually increase their overall speed in the typing of documents. The result, despite the obsolescence of the typewriter, stuck, giving us the QWERTY keyboard.

10
The ancient Egyptians have created the first scissors.

woman getting a haircut
Shutterstock / Kamil Macniak

As far as 1,500 BC., the ancient Egyptians were known to use a large piece of metal-typically bronze-shaped in two blades which, when they are in a hurry, would meet to cut fabric or plants. Thanks to the exchange and travel, the idea spread away and wide, especially to be adapted by the Romans in 100 adjustment, which, also using the bronze, used a design very similar to the one we know today. HUI.

11
The first stapler was manufactured for King Louis XV.

Stapler

The first known stapler appeared in France in the 1700s, by hand for the king at the time,Louis XV. In addition to having the royal insignia inscribed on each staple, the device would have been supposedly made using gold, while precious stones carrying precious stones integrated with the metal for decoration.

12
Bubble wrap was originally sold as wallpaper.

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In 1957, two engineers from New Jersey,ALFRED FIELDING andMarc Chavannes, Sealed together two shower curtains - creating air bubbles between them - and tried to sell the result as a wallpaper. In a predictable way, it was a commercial failure. Then they tried to sell their invention as a greenhouse insulation, to fail again. It was not until 1961 that the pair found their first client, IBM, which discovered that the material would serve as excellent protection when shipping the computer across the country. The IBM 1401-one of the first mass produced computers - was the first product to be shipped in the new invention.

13
Darwin led to the creation of the office chair.

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Charles Darwin Made more than changing the understanding of humanity in the world: he also helped humanity move a little faster in the world. The scientist became the first progenitor of the modern dayoffice chair When, in order to circumvent his study with ease, he added wheels at the bottom of his chair. Obviously, the bearded bruys was not a fan of the city center.

14
Pen caps have holes of them to prevent suffocation.

Pen cap
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While theories abound why most mass producedPen caps come with holes At the top, the real reason is simply the love of people to chew these plastic writing sticks. In order to prevent the suffocation, a Pen Chewer accidentally swallow the cap, the BIC and other pens manufacturers have started to put holes on the top of the caps to allow oxygen. Nevertheless, people die each year accidents involving swallowed pen caps, although the number has decreased regularly as businesses have added larger and larger holes.

15
The glue stick was inspired by the lipstick applicators.

glue stick pink background

Before the first glue stick was produced in 1967, the only largely available glue is a liquid form. While traveling on board a plane two years earlier, however,Dr. Wolfgang Dierichs, a researcher at a glue-making company, has witnessed a woman applying itlipstick. Immediately, it was inspired by the ease of use with which the lipstick applicator allows the user to apply the substance she held. After his return, Dierichs presented his idea to the company, and two years later, the glue stick was born.

16
Dried sharps can be relaunched with frictional alcohol.

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Noting that your permanent marker dried when you desperately needed, it can be a major source of frustration to everyone. However, there is a little known trick to help restart even the most sterile of permanent markers: frictional alcohol. Just place Sharpie, down, in a frictional alcohol bowl and let rest until the ink starts running from the tip. Then reboot the Sharpie and let stand for fifteen minutes. When you go using it again, it will walk like new, allowing you to save or your business a good three dollars and a lot of frustration.

17
Most highlighters sold are yellow.

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Despite the fact that highlighters are now available in a variety of colors, red to the blue pink at the orange-85 percent highlighter sales go to the emblematic yellow bright. In addition to the fact that his marks do not appear on photocopies, the yellow is the most popular because it-with-green are in the middle of the spectrum of wavelengths, which makes them the most colors visible to the eyes. Humans. As a result, it can even be seen by people with red-green daltonism.

18
The metal seal connecting the pencil and the gum is called a "sleeve".

ends of pencils
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The term "ferrule" also refers to other metal joints maintain two elements together, such as the hair holder for a brush or the cap at the end of a cane. It's a mix of Latin wordsviriola, Which means "small bracelet" andFerrum, Which means "iron". And for more ways to deploy this old language in everyday life, steal these30 Latin sentences SO Genius you sound like a master Orator.

19
Pencils can write under the water.

scuba divers under water

It is true: whilediversNeed to buy special paper surfaces to take notes on submarines, they can use traditional graphite pencils to make writing. Erasing works too.

20
The blue part of the gum is intended for thicker paper.

eraser office facts

If you are already asked what the difference between the two sides of the gum is, you are not alone. While the red side is the side for typical use gum to erase on moving slips and other blue side paper writing is to erase darker marks on heavier papers, such as construction paper. While blue is able to robust and pass through virtually any brand, red does not tear through many types of paper than the blue side. In addition, the red can be used to erase more accurate, such as taking errors on a page.

21
Staplers once called "Hotchkiss. »

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Shutterstock / Smolaw

In the early 1900s, the most popular stapler manufacturer was E.H. Hotchkiss Company of Norwalk, Connecticut. They were so popular, in fact, that the device just like Kleenex and Hoover took the name of his creator, and was known as a "hotchkiss. It was only swingline staples accesses notoriety in the 1930s that the Sobriquet finally dissipa. However, the linguistic effects of this story are still felt today: the Japanese word for stapler ishochikisu.

22
Paper envelopes were invented in China in the century Av. D

Mail
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In ancient times, the only envelopes used have been made of clay. It was not until the second century before Jesus that the paper envelope was invented by the Chinese. Although the country had a prosperous postal system, the invention was mainly used to store and cash transport gifts. In fact, the life of tradition today: red envelopes are still used in China and other East Asian countries to give donations of money during holidays or weddings.

23
The average ballpoint pen can draw a line of 1.2 miles long.

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According to BIC, each of their ballpoint pens can produce 1.2 miles from writing before missing. On average, about 45,000 that is writing words.

24
Blu Tack is blue so that children do not eat.

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Blu Tack was invented in 1969 with an unknown inventor in Bostik as an accidental by-product of an experience to develop a new sealing product. Although the original product was white, consumer research revealed that many children misunderstanding the chewing gum substance, jumping in their mouths for a terrible surprise. In response, blue coloring has been added by the company to help distinguish the substance of its sweet similar sosy, thus giving the pitch point its iconic look, and the name.

25
The post-it was created when an employee 3M made a mistake with his adhesive formula.

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In 1968, an employee 3MSpencer SilverAttempt to develop a strong adhesive for planes. Instead, he created a very weak adhesive that he had little used for. It was not until six years later, when a colleague,Fry Arthur, needed a way to keep bookmarks in its choir books without weaving the pages that the use of a very low adhesive has been found. While 3M was initially skeptical of the idea, they introduced the post-it in 1980 and did not look back since.

26
Super glue was used to seal wounds during the Vietnam War.

man using super glue

During the Vietnam War, emergency medications turned to a super glue to stop bleeding and cureinjury On the fly, crediting the substance with a life-saving. In addition, the product is still used by many athletes for a quick solution in the middle of a correspondence. Nevertheless, the substance can cause irritation and kill cells, so it is better saved for emergencies and not your everyday accidents.

27
"PAPETERY" refers to the fact that his sellers do not go to the door.

paper and envelope office facts

There is a reason that the words "stationary" and "stationery" are so similar. The word "paper" was originally used to designate people who sold supplies like pens, paper and pencils because they stayed in the same place, near a university, often, unlike the booksellers. of the time. Although this distinction finally disappeared, the term remained connected with the things they sold, which is why modern day writing equipment is called "Papery".

28
The average pencil can draw a line of 35 miles long.

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While the pens are generally considered lasting of the two writing utensils, their longevity comes nowhere close to that of the pencil, which can draw a line thirty-five miles long before running out.

29
The liquid paper profits paved the way to the MTV

mtv logo 80s nostalgia
Screenshot via YouTube

When the inventor of liquid paper,Bette Nesmith Graham, died, she left millions to her heirs. One of these was his son,Michael Nesmith, a member of the monkeys. With some of the money, he set up a show,Popclips, who played musical videos, explaining the idea like a "new type of television that played videos 24 hours a day".

While Nesmith finally left the project to pursue other opportunities, the leaders of Warner Bros. He launched it to launch the station, named MTV, in 1981.

30
Pencils are an excellent alternative to candles in case of emergency.

Crayon
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If you are never stuck in an electricity failure without candles nearby, a pencil can burn like a candle for about fifteen minutes. Just break the top of the pencil until the paper is even with the wax. Then turn on the pencil and paper will act like a wick while the wax burns like a traditional candle. Another fun fact: when the pencil fell to a NIB, it is called "Leftola".


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