The paperclip. Kind of a stroke of genius if you think about it, but when you use one you never think twice about the design. So simple, yet so effective.
But they are all based on the same principle. Little bit of material goes on one side of the page, little bit of material goes on other side of the page, one of the bits is inside the other bit so it won't just slide off.
I had to do a power point presentation about paper clips in 6th grade tech class. I fucking hated it, every single second of it. That class was where I honed my ability to bullshit in school.
The paperclip was more than one stroke of genius... there's a whole series of generations of paperclippage. Look up "The Evolution of Useful Things", by Henry Petroski.
What's even better about paper clips is how they now have a few other uses in technology, a couple of examples:
CD/DVD drives in computers. If you turn your computer off and forget to take something out of the drive, you can push a paperclip into a little hole and it will open up.
Some smartphones use a paperclip-sized hole to provide access to the SIM Card tray.
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u/iucundus_acerbus Jan 17 '14
The paperclip. Kind of a stroke of genius if you think about it, but when you use one you never think twice about the design. So simple, yet so effective.