Safety Pin

Hi there. My name is Safety Pin, and I might be small, but I have a very important job. You’ve probably seen me holding clothes together or helping with a fun art project. I look like a little piece of shiny, bent wire, but I have a secret. Unlike other pins, I was designed with a special little cover for my pointy end so I can do my work without ever poking anyone. I’m a very safe helper. My story began a long, long time ago with a very clever man named Walter Hunt. He was a wonderful inventor, but one day he had a big problem to solve, and he needed an idea right away. He didn't know it yet, but by twisting a little piece of metal, he was about to create me, his most helpful little friend.

My inventor, Walter Hunt, was always thinking of new things to create. But one day back in 1849, he was worried because he owed a friend some money and needed to pay him back. He sat at his desk, twisting a long piece of brass wire in his hands, thinking and thinking. He twisted it one way, then another. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He had an idea. He carefully bent the wire in the middle, making a springy coil that would let me open and close. Then, he did the most important part. At the other end, he twisted a tiny piece of metal into a little clasp, like a tiny house for my sharp point to sleep in. ‘Aha.’ he probably thought, ‘Now it can hold things tight without being poky.’ I was born. On April 10th, 1849, he got a special paper called a patent, which said the idea was all his. He sold his new idea for me, and with the money, he was able to pay back his friend. He was happy, his friend was happy, and I was ready to go out into the world and start helping people.

Ever since that day, I have been one of the busiest inventions around. For many years, I was famous for helping keep babies' cloth diapers fastened snugly and safely. I was a superhero for parents. I also became a quick fix for people in a hurry. If a button popped off a shirt or a strap on a dress broke, I was there to save the day, pinning everything back together. Today, you can find me helping in so many ways. I hold race numbers on runners' shirts, help people make beautiful beaded crafts, and sometimes I’m even used to make clothes look cool and fashionable. It just goes to show you that even a small, simple idea, born from a piece of twisted wire, can grow up to make a huge difference and be a helpful friend to people all over the world.