A paperclip is a useful and versatile bit of metal. It can be used for opening cd drawers, cleaning between one's teeth, tapping on a desk to assist thought, hanging christmas decorations, throwing at colleagues, trading up for a house. . . you get the idea. Incidentally it can also be used for clipping paper together.

But why is the paperclip used for all of these tasks, when it isn't a great shape for most of them? I propose a pack of assorted shape 'paperclips' where perhaps 1/5 were regular paperclips, another 1/5 straight with a loop on the end (vaguely needle shaped), 1/5 S shaped hooks, 1/5 bent into 'picture' shapes (hearts, animals etc) and the final 1/5 straight pieces of wire for making into your own random shapes. Other shape ideas are of course welcome. (I read somewhere that 80% of paperclips aren't used for clipping paper, hence the 1/5. Can't find it now though) 20 Billion paperclips are sold a year. There's got to be a market.
-- MadnessInMyMethod, Sep 23 2008

Everything you need to know about paperclips http://www.answers.com/topic/paperclip
Except for that elusive 80% [MadnessInMyMethod, Sep 23 2008]

alphabet paper clips http://images.googl...26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN
speaks for itself [xenzag, Sep 23 2008]

as you see, there have been many shapes... http://visualadvanc...aperclip/museum.htm
[xandram, Sep 23 2008]

I used to work for a company where the use of paperclips to fasten papers together was banned.
-- hippo, Sep 23 2008


I've seen some in star shapes and all sorts of others at Staples.
-- Spacecoyote, Sep 23 2008


[xenzag] - I've seen various interesting shaped paperclips for holding stuff together, but they are all more complicated variations on the standard trombone shape. I want a bit of wire which is no good at all for holding paper together, but is better for the various other tasks
-- MadnessInMyMethod, Sep 23 2008


...because one day, a careless employee picked up a contract document for a potential client and didn't realise that another document had slid into the paperclip at the back of the document. I'm not sure what this other document was, but when the client saw it, the multi-million dollar deal was off.
-- hippo, Sep 23 2008


So, turn them into a much more complicated, expensive, yet effective Pr@PER clips... countering improper paperclips...
-- rotary, Sep 23 2008



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