would you believe me if I told you this was actually the only paperclip I could find in my house

After seeing this tweet pointing out the fact that Prada was essentially selling a paperclip for $185 it had me wondering who invented the paperclip. This is partially because whoever patented the invention would have a lawsuit paper clipped to Prada's doorstep.

If you follow me on twitter - I swear is there a post where I actually don't say / start off a sentence with that - you'll see I wrote a thread on the history of the paperclip after seeing Prada prance around like they've just invented the most original thing on planet earth. 

You're probably sitting there now wondering if I've already wrote a twitter thread what's the point of a blogpost on it - the reason is because scrolling through my twitter page to find said thread when I want to remember who invented what would most likely take hours. (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this a lot, but if you're new here, I essentially live on twitter.) 

Solution? Write it in a blogpost so if I ever need to remember - it's here for me & perhaps for anyone else who was wondering who invented the paperclip.

[ Okay REALISTICALLY SPEAKING I THINK I AM THE ONLY PERSON WHO WILL EVER WONDER WHO MADE THE PAPERCLIP ] 

We're going to jump back in time to 1899 in England. In that year William Middlebrook invented the machine to make the paperclip HOWEVER he only patented the machine itself not the paperclip that was produced from the machine. He made the machine for the Gem Manufacturing Company. This paperclip is the one we see today, it is actually called the Gem Paperclip.

This is where it gets kind of hilarious. (Well, I thought it was hilarious)

Fast Forward to 1901 and jump into Norway. Over in Norway they didn't hear of the great invention of the paperclip. You're probably sitting there like what's so great about a paperclip except for the fact that it came from a machine in Great Britain?

Well, at that time papers were held down using a straight pin and held together with ribbon - so this paperclip was actually what dreams were made of in 1899.

Anyways - the year 1901 comes and Johan Vaaler is chilling in good ol' Norway and then LIGHTBULB MOMENT what if there was such thing as a paperclip. Unlike William Middlebrook's paperclip, Johan's was rectangular in shape. So in 1901 Johan Vaaler received an American patent for the paperclip [ Norway did not have a patent laws at that time].

The person who is credited with the paperclip invention was Vaaler because William Middlebrook only patented the machine that made the paperclip not the paperclip itself.

[Even though Vaaler didn't hear of the paperclip when he patented his paperclip I kind of like to think Vaaler's thoughts were along the lines of: HAHAHA ENGLAND YOU FORGOT AND IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE - IT'S NORWAY'S PROPERTY NOW XOXO]

You want to know what's even funnier?

Norway has a massive sculpture of a paperclip and it's William Middlebrook's model not Vaaler's!

I like to think Norway was thinking OK MAYBE YOU DID INVENT THE PAPERCLIP ENGLAND.

So, is this where the Crash Course ends?

In my twitter thread yes, in this blogpost uh not yet!

Symbolism of the Paperclip

After Hitler invaded Norway in World War II all symbols of Norway pre-invasion had been banned by the Nazi's (i.e. Symbols of the Royal Family, national symbols etc.). This is when the people in Norway began pinning paperclips to their jackets and even made bracelets with paperclips. The paperclip represented unity - partially because a paperclip was used to bind papers together so it was in a way binding the Norwegian people all together.

During the war, it was thought by Norwegian's that the paperclip was a Norwegian invention - and in technicality it is since Vaaler patented a paperclip first - however rather than the rectangle shape paperclip being clipped on everyones jacket, it was actually the Gem Paperclip invented by William Middlebrook.

Norwegians wearing a paperclip symbolized their resistance against the Nazis. However, once the Nazis figured out the real reason why Norwegians were suddenly wearing paperclips on their jackets it became a criminal violation and they could of gotten arrested for wearing one.

In the end it didn't matter that they could get arrested or harmed by the Nazis for wearing a paperclip - what mattered was that they resisted and they resisted together.

This is the reason for the paperclip sculpture featuring the Gem Paperclip - rather than Vaaler's - because it was the Gem Paperclip that brought the Norwegian people together in the same way it was used to bind paper together but it was Vaaler's name that gave them the reason to choose it as a symbol of resistance since it was thought to be invented by a Norwegian man.

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I thought it was pretty interesting to read up on the history of the paperclip - also kind of sitting here waiting for the Norwegian twitter to hear about the Prada 'money clip' - hope you also learned something new!





If you read my previous posts, you'll know that having a training plan didn't really do me any favors. I ended up overtraining which eventually led to me taking a few months break due to injuries. In my previous post I explained that I was going to be using the Nike+ Run Club App only to keep track of my pacing.

Well, uh so I ended up on the tab that said 'My Coach' and long story short I'm now on a Training Plan. If you're sitting there like girl what about what you said - they [RunKeeper App Training Plan] pushed you too hard & you ended up taking a few month break. This was the inner battle in my head - essentially. However the one thing that made me jump into a Training Plan was that I was only running one mile every other day and that was it. After 2 weeks my timing was pretty much floating around the same minute per mile - and so I thought maybe this app will be different. 

Also, only doing the same run every single day can get a little boring - well if you're me and forget to update your running playlist that is. Previously - I did a Training Plan with the RunKeeper App and the results were amazing: I was running faster- with a 6 min per mile time - however due to the intensity of my running I was doing every other day I ended up getting an injury on my foot which put me out of running for a few months.

I'm about 3 weeks into this Training Plan (out of 8 weeks) and I can see that there is a difference in my pacing - partly because the App puts in a day specifically for cardio exercises. Unlike the RunKeeper App that only kept me running, the Nike+ Run Club App includes strength training one day and then running on two other days.

I do feel myself getting stronger - and let me first tell you those cardio exercises are intense, especially considering I exercise while fasting. Doing strength training while fasting is interesting - and by that I mean I occasionally have to stop the exercise I'm doing to rest a bit more before continuing.

I should probably note that I exercise about an hour before it is time for me to break my fast - so essentially right when I finish my workout it's time to eat!
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If you're wondering what I'm going on about in terms of fasting I've written a Crash Course on Ramadan
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One thing I will say in terms of Having a Training Plan vs Not Having One is that having a training plan actually gives you motivation to go and work-out. I personally just always grab my sneakers & run regardless but it's good to have a bit of extra motivation to run and get the little green check when you finish a work-out.

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In terms of Exercising Before & After a Run

I've changed my exercises a bit from the last time:

Before Run:
(Personally only use the ones before running)

After Run:

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If you're sitting there like okay the Training Plan MAY give me SOME motivation but not enough to get me out the house / on a treadmill here are some accounts on Twitter that always make me motivated to go for a run:

Essentially - when people go out for a run they take a photo of their view while running & tag them in the photo and basically on your timeline you see amazing views people have while they're running.  

Pretty sure it's in the name but it's where there's a chat all about running  - I personally haven't been able to catch a chat due to actually running whenever the chat happens but I always check back to see the questions and see what the chat centered on!

They always have the best tips & exercises and relatable articles on running - oh and often they give a playlist to keep you powered through your runs!

They also give tips and some different exercises to incorporate before / after your run as well as healthy snacks to eat before/after a run.

Similar to the above Runner's World - great tips & advice on running.

Another tip - follow Olympic Runners - they're awesome & always get me motivated for my next run!


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Missed a previous fitness type post?
Here's the one prior to this -> Running Right