National Paperclip Day Date in the current year: May 29, 2026

Paperclips (or paper clips) are small tools used to hold sheets of paper together. They are usually made of steel wire bent into a looped shape, which is sometimes coated with plastic. The origins of the modern paperclip are somewhat murky. The first patents for bent wire paperclip designs were issued in the 1860s, but these clips were designed differently from modern ones.

The most common paperclip design was never patented. Known as the Gem paperclip, it was popularized by the UK-based Gem Manufacturing Company, which began producing paperclips as early as the 1870s. The earliest illustration confirming the design of the Gem paperclip dates to 1893. Six years later, in 1899, William Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut, was granted a patent for a paperclip-making machine that featured an illustration of a Gem paper clip.

There is a common misconception that the modern paperclip was invented by Norwegian inventor and patent clerk Johan Vaaler. Vaaler did indeed invent a type of paperclip around 1899, patenting it in Germany in 1900 and the United States in 1901. However, Vaaler’s design was different from the Gem paperclip and less practical, so it never became widely used.

In the 1920s, an employee of the Norwegian national patent agency came across Vaaler’s German patent but failed to detect that this design differed from the widespread Gem design. The employee wrote an article proclaiming Vaaler as the inventor of the paperclip, and this erroneous information made its way into some Norwegian encyclopedias.

During World War II, Norwegian patriots started wearing paperclips on their lapels as a symbol of solidarity and resistance against the German occupation, as other resistance symbols had been banned. After the war, the paperclip became a Norwegian national symbol, and Vaaler’s alleged role in its invention was heavily promoted. However, all promotional materials featured the Gem design, overlooking the fact that Vaaler’s design was different.

Today, the paperclip is a ubiquitous stationery item because it’s cheap, practical, and versatile. It has many uses besides holding papers together. For instance, the thin end of an unfolded paperclip can be used to eject a SIM card from a smartphone, reset certain devices, or unclog a spray bottle. You can also use a paperclip as an emergency zipper tab replacement.

The origins of National Paperclip Day are unclear, but that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating! You can use paperclips to organize your documents, make paperclip art, or watch the 2004 documentary Paper Clips about the Paper Clips Project, in which middle schools students from Tennessee set out to collect six million paperclips to represent six million Jews killed during the Holocaust. And don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtag #NationalPaperclipDay!