The Paperclip Has No Inventor — And It Became a Weapon Against the Nazis
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The modern paperclip was never patented. Nobody knows who invented it. And yet — it became one of the most powerful symbols of resistance in human history. The Gem paperclip is everywhere — on desks, in drawers, in every office in the world. But the story behind this tiny piece of bent wire is anything but ordinary. In this episode of The Hidden History Project, Aiden Thomas uncovers the truth: the world's most common object has no known creator. The design that everyone uses emerged from an anonymous factory in Britain and was never protected by a single patent. The man Norway credits with inventing it — Johan Vaaler — designed a completely different clip that was never manufactured or sold. And the monuments they built to honor him? They depict the wrong paperclip.But in Nazi-occupied Oslo, the paperclip became a secret language. University students wore them on their lapels as an act of silent defiance — and the Nazis made it a criminal offense. Then decades later, a clas
Tags: hidden history, history documentary, ww2, world war 2, ww2 history, military history, wwii, hidden history of everyday objects, history of everyday objects, everyday objects history, german occupation of norway, norway, did you know facts, hidden histories, paperclip history, history of the paperclip, paperclip invention, Johan Vaaler, Hidden History Project, Holocaust memorial
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