Safety Pin
"Safety Pins(PSF)" — Photo by Pearson Scott Foresman / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
The ultimate quick fix for life's loose ends.
This clever little contraption has been saving outfits and makeshift repairs for over a century. With a simple twist and a sharp point, it ensures that what should stay together, stays together.
Did you know?
Walter Hunt invented this device in 1849 in a desperate three-hour burst of creativity to pay off a fifteen-dollar debt; he eventually sold the patent rights for just four hundred dollars. He also invented an early sewing machine, a fountain pen and a repeating rifle, but died largely unrewarded for any of them.
“The American inventor reportedly came up with it in about three hours, while twisting a piece of wire.”
“The ancient Romans used a related fastener called a fibula.”
“The legendary saviour of a wardrobe malfunction.”
“A self-locking guardian of loose fabric.”
“A bent wire that keeps things held together.”