Hands up: who has been using a stapler for over ten years?
Twenty? Thirty years? Fifty?
That’s most of you, then.
How many of you know about the secret secondary function that your stapler has been harbouring the whole time?
That’s a lot of hands that have gone down.
Though most of us have been using staplers for decades – ever since we were finally entrusted with the mildly dangerous, piercing object at school – generally we only know of the one way to use it.
Slip some papers between the two plates, press down, and voila!
So long as the stapler has been loaded with the proper staples, and doesn’t have some kind of pesky sticking problem, your sheets of paper are magically attached by a small, neat bit of folded metal.
Magic, right?
However, this is not the only impressive feature of the stapler.
Have you ever stapled something, only to realise that you’ve done it wrong – or alternatively, needed to un-attach something later down the line?
Here you are forced to choose between simply ripping off the piece of paper and leaving it looking scruffy, finding one of the little claw-like staple removing devices that exist but are often nowhere to be found, or risk removing it by hand and puncturing one of your fingers in the process.
But little did you know, the secondary function of the stapler is designed with just this problem in mind.
It staples things temporarily by creating a less secure hold.
By adjusting the metal plate on your stapler, you will find this second function which splays the arms of the staple outwards instead of inwards.
According to an issue of Popular Mechanics magazine which was published in 1941 – yes, over 80 years ago! – this function is purpose-made to help those looking for a less permanent solution:
“If a temporary fastening is desired, the staple points can be bent outward instead of inward so they may be removed as easily as a pin. The base is hinged so it will swing out of the way, permitting the machine to tack the staples straight into boxes or crates for attaching tags and labels.”
Instead of hugging tight, the staples will bend out: this temporary staple job will still hold papers together, but is much easier to remove.
Though this is less of an issue now that most of our documents are digitized, it is still great to know that our staplers have such a nifty second use.
Who knew that an everyday object could have such a fascinating secret.
If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.