Calling All Minds by Temple Grandin

Author:Temple Grandin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-05-15T04:00:00+00:00

Courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Patent No. US1901707A for a marionette toy that moves in a natural manner by Louise M. Dunn and Winifred H. Mills

Courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Patent No. US4253270A for an invisible marionette by Carl E. Elwing and Mary J. Elwing

PAPER CHASE

The stapler is a good example of an invention that evolved over time and through the hands and minds of different inventors. First consider this: staples didn’t exist until paper was invented. It may seem obvious, but I think that’s an exciting fact because it means that when humans invent something new, there is a domino effect as many more new inventions will be created as a result. People date the first stapler back to the French King Louis XV, who needed to secure his court documents. French toolmakers came up with the first staple, which was used one at a time, was made of gold, and had the royal court’s insignia on it.

In 1866, inventor George McGill made the first commercially successful stapler, which was known as a “bendable paper fastener.” It looked like a sewing machine and punched the staple through paper, but each staple still had to be loaded in one at a time. Then, in 1877, Henry R. Heyl received a patent for his improvement, which could both send the staple through the paper and bend the wire up underneath to cinch it. The next truly exciting innovation for the stapler came in 1895 when Eli Hotchkiss introduced the strip of staples wired together that got inserted into the body of the stapler, which enabled continuous stapling. It may not sound like much, but until then, remember every staple was inserted manually and punched through the paper one at a time. Staple strips are still used today, but they are now glued together. Hotchkiss made a few other design improvements, and this stapler, named the No. 1 Automatic Paper Fastener, remained the most popular for forty years. But there was still one little problem: loading the staples in an efficient way.

Courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Patent No. US2012572A for a paper fastener by Jack Linsky

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