Oh, yes. You read that correctly. The History of the Trapper Keeper. Do you remember these jewels of high school? I sure do. Mental Floss published an exhaustive history of the design and development of the iconic notebook system. There’s details about market research, focus groups and patents. Yep, it was scientifically created to be fabulous.
Best quote:
John Mayer called Trapper Keepers “the genesis of OCD for my generation.”
(via Mental Floss)
This post sure is bringing back a lot of memories….=)
Do I go to the head of the geek/nerd class if I say I still have some of the vintage ones in use for achival stuff?
Or does almost everyone have them stashed somewhere on an album/scrapbook shelf?
Yes, you get a gold star for keeping your Keeper!
We didn’t have those when I was in school. We had 3-ring binders, “duotangs”, and wire-bound notebooks. We also didn’t have big box stationery stores; I got my school supplies at the drugstore and Sears, because Kmart (no Walmart) was too far away from the house. We did have a stationery store that sold stuff for grownups, like fountain pen ink and ledger books and typewriter ribbons. There were no home computers. When I needed to do a report that was typed I used my dad’s old Royal or (when that finally broke for good) rented a typewriter from the typewriter repair shop.
Okay, back to my crypt…
Andrea, I think we are the same vintage – only when my Dad’s old Royal finally died, he bought an IBM Selectric. Typewriters were as important as bicycles in his mind, so we all had one by the time we graduated from high school. And typing lessons were mandatory after 8th grade. (For which I am ever grateful.) But I know what you mean about getting school supplies from the drug store – Duotang folders (and ring binders when we got into the upper grades), filler paper, #2 pencils, $1 Parker/Sheaffer fountain pens. We got book bags from the school. I still remember my mother, in the evening before the 2nd day of school, with a stack of folders, writing our names, addresses, teachers’ names, classroom numbers, etc. – just about every conceivable piece of identification – on our folders. Thanks for sparking the trip down memory lane…