Week 4 Task 11 - National Paperclip Day

[Lex Green]

In 1867, Samuel B. Fay patented a new design for a piece of bent wire, which became known as a paperclip - and in fact, there were a wide range of patents accepted for slightly different versions of the paperclip, with slightly different purposes. Now one of the most handy and versatile pieces of stationary, it’s only fair that we mention the wonderful paperclip, and how they are celebrated on National Paperclip Day, May 29th!

Task:
Research one of the uses of a paperclip, other than ‘holding pieces of paper together.’ You can pick something reasonably normal, or maybe try and find the wildest use of a paperclip you can find!

Share your findings below in at least 100 words to earn 10 beans/sapphires, plus a potential 10 beans/sapphires for completing all the Week 4 tasks by the end of the activity. All submissions are due at 11:59pm on June 13th.

[River Fenwick]

One use for paperclips that I've found is in the kitchen. Many different kinds of food come with stems, leaves, and more. Most people will want to have these removed before eating, cutting, or using them as an ingredient in a larger form. The solution to that problem can surprisingly be as simple as using a paperclip! Paperclips can be used to remove some of these pesky parts of food, with examples being the hull of a strawberry and the pits of a cherry. While there are tools that can also do this, paper clips can be a convenient alternative if you don't have any or can't find the necessary tools.

[Katherine Laurier]

Another use of paperclips aside from holding pieces of paper together is it helps in putting on jewelry, specifically bracelets that you clasp on your wrist. This hack is genuinely a life saver for me as someone who owns plenty of these bracelets and does not always have someone around to help me in putting it on. You simply bend apart the paper clip, insert one end of the paper clip inside one hole of the bracelet, hold the paper clip in your palm, and use your other hand to clasp the bracelet. This prevents the bracelet from falling from your wrist each time you try to put it on. (For those who need this hack like me, you can see a visual explanation here :p)