The invention of the Paper Clip

What is a paper clip?

• Something made of wire.

• A tool used to hold pieces of paper together.

• Something that hold stuff.

• A tool that holds things.

Before paper clips were invented, papers were held together with string or ribbon.

• True
• False

How long was the mthod of string and ribbon used to keep paper together?

• 200 years

• 50 years

• 1000 years

• 600 years

Who invented an early paper clip?

• Johann Vaaler

• Albert Einstein

• William Middlebrook

• Someone smart

When was the material needed for the early paper clip figured out and what did this later lead to?

• 1855 and it later lead to stronger paper clips.

• 1855 and it later lead to the invention of clothes hangers, safety pins, and better paper clips.

• 1887 and it was made of flexible wire that could be bent to hold papers.

• 1887 and it later lead to the invention of clothes hangers, safety pins, and better paper clips.

Why was the early version considered to be not very good?

• It did not hold many papers.

• It was not strong wire.

• It did not have the secure second loop.

• It created a hole in the papers.

Who invented the machine that first created the paper clip that we use today?

• William Middlebrook

• Albert Einstein, a scientist.

• Johann Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor.

• Samuel B. Fay

The name of the macine that created our current clips is called Gem.

• True
• False

Who is credited with the first patent in the United States for a paper clip?

• Johann Vaaler

• William Middlebrook

• An american inventor that is unknown

• Samuel B. Fay

About how many paper clips do Americans purchase per year?

• Six hundred paper clips

• eleven billion paper clips

• seventy-five thousand paper clips

• one million paper clips