The safety pin as an object dates back to 1849; it was invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. He literally made it in three hours to pay off a $15 debt. Yes, really. He even patented it — but then sold the patent rights for $400. Safe to say he may have second-guessed that one once the thing blew up.
What’s wild is that Hunt didn’t even think that this little hole in the coil would become a curious phenomenon more than 150 years later. But here we are.
The Best Kind of Everyday Engineering
To be honest, safety pins are an incredible functional design turn. They’re inexpensive, straightforward and somehow batshit useful. From fashion fixes and first aid to D.I.Y. projects and diaper duty (hello, vintage cloth diapers), they’ve weathered the test of time. And that’s in part thanks to the sort of small design details like those in a hole in a safety pin. It’s one of those “you don’t see it until you really see it” type of things.
Makes you think about how many more common tools have hidden features we never knew about, right? Like the hole in the pot handle (yup, that’s for your spoon), or that little groove you see at the bottom of plastic bottles (pressure control!). Engineering is truly lowkey amazing.
The Hole’s There for a Reason
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