By Staff
Kim West
I think if aliens really existed and visited Earth, they would be puzzled by all of the random, everyday objects we use at work without really thinking about them. Most office supplies are very simple – staples, rubber bands, push pins – yet someone came up with a way to take everyday materials and turn them into must-have office supplies.
These types of items fascinate me because anyone could come up with something like that.
Not many of us have the technical ability of Microsoft founder Bill Gates or the gaming genius of Tetris inventor Alexey Pajitnov, but I think we all have the ability to take a piece of wire and twist it into the well-known shape of a paper clip.
I think my favorite office item is a good stack of canary yellow Post-It Notes.
I did a little research and discovered that they haven't been around very long – office supply giant 3M launched the product in 1977.
This a completely unscientific claim, but I think Post-It Notes enable procrastination.
I try to clear all of the sticky notes affixed to my computer screen by the end of each work week because it's kind of depressing to walk in Monday morning and find several small squares of colored paper mocking me.
I think there's a self-help book called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and I'm pretty sure effective people don't rely on sticky notes like I do.
Our classifieds manager is an exception to the rule, because she is very task-oriented despite her addiction to odd-shaped sticky notes.
Apparently frustration can lead to inventiveness – Post-It Notes were created after Art Fry, a friend and colleague of 3M scientist Dr. Spencer Silver, complained that his bookmarks kept falling out of his church choir book. Silver had developed a new type of adhesive in 1968, and Fry decided to use it on his paper bookmarks.
By 1980, the sticky notes were being used throughout the U.S. and the rest is history.
Have a safe and happy holiday, and if you're still searching for an extra stocking stuffer, you could always stick a bow on a package of colorful sticky notes.