is usually used in place of the paper clip for large volumes of paper. Various practical (and sometimes whimsical) alternative uses have been proposed. These include holding pieces of quilt together, creating a "beer pyramid" in a refrigerator with wire shelves, serving as a bookmark, a cheap alternative to a money clip or preventing computer cables from slipping behind desks. Smaller sized clips have been commonly used as "quick fix" fitting and sizing solutions in the fashion industry. In 1966, test pilot Joseph F. Cotton used the shiny metal portion of such a clip to short-circuit an electrical circuit panel to force the landing gear of the XB-70 bomber on a flight. The object is such a common sight in offices that, in late 2020, when restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lowered and people started returning to their offices, some missed and enjoyed the feeling of using a binder clip, after months without doing so. At around the same time, healthcare workers in at least one medical center used extra large binder clips as a cheap way to secure a plastic curtain between workers and patients infected with the airborne virus. History In 1909, the method of binding sheets of paper together was to punch holes in them and tie them together with string or sew them, making it tedious to remove a single sheet of paper. The binder clip was invented, and patented in 1910 by Washington, D.C. area resident, Louis E. Baltzley, grandson of Elias Howe, to help his father, born in 1848, twin to Edward Baltzley and son of Susan (née Howe) and David C. Baltzley, Edwin Baltzley, developers of Glen Echo Park and Glen Echo, Maryland, a writer, and inventor, with thirteen patents, hold his manuscripts together more easily. While similar-purposed designs have since been patented five times, the most produced version remains the . Louis E. Baltzley, with more than thirty other patents, initially produced this invention through the L.E.B. Manufacturing Company. These earliest binder clips are stamped "L.E.B." on one side of the sheet steel. Manufacturing rights were later licensed to other companies. Louis E. Baltzley Louis E. Baltzley, born circa 1885, by February 1930, had moved to Glen Ridge, New Jersey married, and had two daughters, one marrying in 1940. Gallery See also Treasury tag References Fasteners Office equipment Stationery Products introduced in 1910 ja:バインダークリップ