Talk:Paper clip

Paper Clips
How about some mention of the documentary "Paper Clips?" You may have it elsewhere and I haven't looked enough. The documentary is based on the idea that the paper clip was used as a sign of resistence and was used by a middle school in Tennessee to give students a visual idea of how much six million items are.99.230.206.126 (talk) 15:05, 7 December 2008 (UTC)i never knew paper clips eat marshmallows for breakfast

Invention/patent/credits
Actually, the first patent went to Samuel B. Fay in 1867 in America. There were many types patented long before Vaaler's.

Seriously though...
Why the are we looking up paperclips on Wiki :P

I did. I just found one at my computer and i thought: "let's see whom wikipedia credits as the inventor", I am from Norway and I've always heard that it is a Norwegian invention. 85.167.133.203 21:14, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, not quite true.

I looked it up because I'm making a giant paperclip in my Art BTEC course at school. This article is helping, and I never knew that wearing paperclips in WWII was a way of supporting the Jews. Futuremyst (talk) 13:24, 19 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Sorry, but you are mistaken, as you will find out by reading the text more closely. Norwegians wore paper clips in their lapels or pockets to demonstrate resistance to the German occupation and to local Nazi authorities, not to support the Jews. Roede (talk) 20:06, 27 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Must have misread it. Thanks for the correction. Futuremyst (talk) 07:35, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Why are we looking up Paper Clips on WP?? Because WP is where people go to find detailed info such as a paperclip size chart. Just how big is a #1 paperclip anyway?? Why do I find that the sizes decrease from #1 to #2 to #3, but then jump to bigger for a #4??? These are things that WP editors research and share with the world. I'm disappointed to find that the info I need isn't here...yet. I may have to go do the research myself and update the article. WesT (talk) 19:44, 29 March 2019 (UTC)
 * WP:SOFIXIT Sounds like it's worth investigating and documenting. Go for it! Reify-tech (talk) 19:57, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

Need units for rule in image
Regarding the image showing the paper clip next to a tape rule: the units of the rule should be indicated.
 * It's blatantly centimetres (based on the usual size of paperclips, the usual size of the metal end to the tape measure, and the division into 10 - inches are commonly divided into other numbers). So changed description.


 * never seen a decimal inches ruler? --UltraMagnus (talk) 22:38, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Vaaler or Våler
I've been told that it is common to use "aa" in stead of "å" when you do not have a keyboard with a set key for that. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.160.245.172 (talk) 10:15, 21 February 2007 (UTC).


 * This may be true but I think that the Norwegian Wikipedia should be the example that we follow on this spelling --Vince 11:25, 22 February 2007 (UTC)


 * The letter "å" was introduced in Nowegian orthography in 1917, displacing the former "aa" for the same sound. In Danish, the change was made in 1948. The letter "å" was borrowed from Swedish, where it had been used for a long time. Most Norwegian (and Danish) family names with the "å" sound acquired their present spelling before 1917 (or 1948). Most families retained their traditional spelling with "aa" despite these reforms. It is true that "aa" and "å" are considered to be interchangeable in Scandinavian languages. When "å" is not available, as on Anglo-American keyboards, we use "aa" instead. And in telephone books, names beginning with "Aa" are listed at the end of the alphabet, together with "Å". But we are careful to respect the spelling of family names. The name of Johan Vaaler is one such name that should not have its spelling altered. He has no descendants still alive, but probably more distant relatives who would object to the "Våler" spelling. However, Våler is no uncommon farm name, and numerous persons from other families (descended from owners of other farms) spell their names with an "å". Roede 22:49, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

How many?
Can anybody figure how many paperclips are produced worldwide in any given year?

This link qoutes 20 billion produced each year. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Monkdom (talk • contribs) 12:59, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

yes! there is about 200,000,000,000 world wide and about 300,000,000,000 ever made —Preceding unsigned comment added by Paperclip 108 (talk • contribs) 22:29, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Where do all those paper clips disappear to?
Is there a graveyard of paper clips somewhere? Somebody please explain!

--juhtolv (talk) 17:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't know, but i remember reading that only 1 in 5 paperclips ever end up holding paper together!--UltraMagnus (talk) 22:35, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Signs of NPOV
Hi guys. I found a little trace of NPOV (highly innofensive and mostly unintentional) in this article probably by the origin of the author. Could anyone do some simple refrasing because the article sort of sound like an advertisement for the (now defunct) Gem company. Hope is possible.--201.116.149.85 (talk) 22:29, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Inexplicably obscure US standard sizes...
I bonk up against this every time I go to order office supplies and I'm surprised it's still not answered here. In a store it would be obvious, but without a box to compare to... What's the difference between No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3? Is Jumbo above and beyond all of these, or what? --19:16, 17 July 2009 (UTC)~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.212.34.122 (talk)

Who is the inventor finally?
And I heard it has been invented by Josef Hofmann.

Not sure when it was patented? Does anyone know?
 * The common paper clip has never been patented, but was produced by the British Gem Manufacturing Company in 1894, and possibly earlier. The Early Office Museum exhibits an adverisement for the Gem clip, publishede in 1894. See http://www.earlyofficemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm. Roede (talk) 19:52, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Use in Commodore 1541 Disk Drive - True or Urban Myth?
The sentence "A paper clip could be installed in a Commodore 1541 disk-drive as a flexible head-stop" pops up at many places on the net, but I have trouble finding more details about this. It would be great to either find a good reference for this claim, or to dismiss it as an urban myth. Joreberg (talk) 19:19, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with File:Clippy-letter.PNG
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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 08:39, 22 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Paperclip.stl

Paper clips of the modern day.
When were paper clips made to be like today's design? If we have a picture of an ad for it in Jan 1893 that looks almost exactly like the Gem design mentioned, they why does the article also say "Up until 1899, paper clips aren't reminiscent of what they look like today". I feel like those 2 points of data contradict each other. TheWheelerDealer (talk) 22:01, 12 February 2023 (UTC)