Drawing pin: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Brass_thumbtack.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A brass thumbtack]]A '''thumbtack''' is a short [[nail (engineering)|nail]] or [[Pin (device)|pin]] with a large, slightly rounded head made of metal which is used to fasten documents to a background for public display and which can easily be inserted or removed by hand. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], [[India]] and [[Australia]], thumbtacks are usually called '''drawing-pins'''. |
[[Image:Brass_thumbtack.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A brass thumbtack]]A '''thumbtack''' is a short [[nail (engineering)|nail]] or [[Pin (device)|pin]] with a large, slightly rounded head made of metal which is used to fasten documents to a background for public display and which can easily be inserted or removed by hand. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], [[India]] and [[Australia]], thumbtacks are usually called '''drawing-pins'''. |
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==Types of Thumbtack== |
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[[Image:Map_pin.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A map pin or push pin]]The most common thumbtacks are made by attaching a [[brass]] stem to a flat brass head. Some have coloured [[plastic]] tops, to make them more attractive. |
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'''Map Pins''', or '''push pins''', are also a type of thumbtack. Map Pins have a handle-like cover of plastic, which brings the pin out of the wall, allowing quick and easy removal from surfaces. |
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Some other map pins have a round 1mm head to allow for easy removal. Both types come in a varity of colors. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 15:28, 9 January 2007
This article is about Thumbtacks as stationery. See Use Of Thumbtacks In Professional Wrestling for Thumbtacks as weapons in professional wrestling.
A thumbtack is a short nail or pin with a large, slightly rounded head made of metal which is used to fasten documents to a background for public display and which can easily be inserted or removed by hand. In the UK, India and Australia, thumbtacks are usually called drawing-pins.
History
The map pin was invented by Edwin Moore around 1900, the year in which he founded the Moore Push-Pin Company [1].
As far as is currently known, the thumbtack was invented by the clockmaker Johann Kirsten in the year 1903 in the town of Lychen in Uckermark, Germany [2]. He sold the rights to the invention to Otto Lindstedt, a businessman, who received a patent for the thumbtack on 8th January 1904. Lindstedt became a wealthy man while Kirsten, the clockmaker, remained in poverty.
Other sources ascribe the invention of the thumbtack to Austrian factory owner Heinrich Sachs in 1888 [3].
Physics
A thumbtack can be inserted by hand because of the large area of its head relative to the area of its point. When a relatively low pressure is applied across the large head of a thumbtack, a high pressure will be applied by the tip of the thumbtack. The low pressure on the head means the thumbtack will not pierce a person's finger. The high pressure at the tip allows it to pierce the surface to which the document is being fastened.
Facts
A thumbtack can be made to spin on its tip like a spinning top by holding the pin (with head facing up) between thumb and forefinger and rapidly spinning and releasing it in one fluid motion.
Thumbtacks are used as a weapon in professional wrestling.
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