The History of Staples
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
Staples - who would think that I could write a whole piece on this one stationery supply alone? Well, lets give it a try shall we? The humble staple apparently dates all the way back to the 6th Century, where it was used for something completely different than its common use today. The original use was in fact for holding rocks together, and proof of this has been found in ancient masonry works throughout the world.
Clearly then, they were not the same as the “staples” we have come to know and use regularly today. The modern day staple and home stapler originated much later than the previous, alternativeversion, in 1877, and was patented at this time also. As far as the usefulness of office supplies go, the staple is most definitely one of the top contenders. It is responsible for maintaining order on your desk, reducing clutter, and ensuring that material to be presented is kept together in the correct order, allowing for ample readability and ease by the receiver.
All in all, not the most exciting history or topic to write on. But, if the staple has done so much to prevent our working lives from descending in to chaos, I say we owe the little stationery supplies such as this one, just a few moments in the limelight.