Paperclips

I once read that if all the National Geographic magazines sitting in people's basements were gathered to one spot, the weight of it would send the Earth out of its orbit. Truth? I can't prove it. But here's something I do believe -- if there were never one more paper clip manufactured for all eternity, we would have plenty to use anyway. Why do people buy paperclips? Because they don't know where the used ones are stashed -- probably in someone's desk drawer that hasn't been opened in a few months. I know--there are newer, brighter, more colorful ones now than the plain silver ones. It's the tried and true sales gimmick--change a little something to make a product new--but it's still the same old cleanser or cereal or PAPERCLIP. At work, my compulsiveness requires me to keep the silver ones separated from the colored ones, and even those I separate by metallic colored or plastic colored. I also play a little game. I try to get through the entire day without using even one of my own paper clips. I just collect clips from paperwork handed to me, then use them up. Almost always the day ends with me adding paper clips to my own holders. Sometimes I walk around distributing paperclips to other people's desks. I know it's a little thing. I know they don't cost much. I know you think I'm crazy. I wonder if all the paperclips in the world were made into a chain, how many times it would go around the Earth?