| In a world of hi-tech gear, office supplies are some of | | | | inexpensive, electronic devices, the calculator became |
| the simplest - and perhaps mundane-- devices known | | | | the precursor to the mircroprocessor - the precursor |
| to man - and yet, we would be unable to reach a | | | | to the computer. |
| satisfactory level of productivity without them. Upon | | | | Post-It Notes |
| closer inspection, office supplies have an untold history | | | | Church choir member Arthur Fry had a conundrum. |
| that's both fascinating and entertaining. | | | | Frustrated that his bookmarks kept falling out of his |
| Calculators | | | | hymnal, he came up with the idea of using a reusable |
| Before there were calculators, there was the slide | | | | adhesive developed in 1968 by 3M colleague, Dr. |
| ruler. In 1614, John Napier discovered the logarithm | | | | Spencer Silver. Silver had promoted his invention within |
| which enabled people to perform multiplications and | | | | the company for years through seminars, but without |
| division by addition and subtraction. While a great time | | | | much success. After attending one of Silver's |
| saver, it still required quite a bit of work to find the | | | | seminars, Fry realized he could use the adhesive to |
| answer. William Oughtred eventually simplified the | | | | anchor his bookmarks. Fry also realized his "bookmark" |
| process, but for many the slide rule remained a | | | | had other practical uses for communication and |
| challenge. In fact, a 1960 Pickett manual said: "When | | | | organization. |
| people have difficulty in learning to use a slide rule, | | | | 3M Corporation crafted the name Post-It for Fry's |
| usually it is not because the instrument is difficult to use. | | | | bookmarks and began production in the late 1970s for |
| The reason is likely to be that they don't understand | | | | commercial use. Initially, the idea was slow to catch on, |
| the mathematics on which the instrument is based. | | | | but once consumers tried the product, the Post-It took |
| Thankfully, William Seward Burroughs invented the first | | | | off. |
| practical adding and listing machine. The first machine | | | | The Office |
| required a special knack in pulling the handle to | | | | Based on the Latin word "officium," which meant not |
| execute the calculation correctly. Differing sums, | | | | only duty (an important concept for those bureaucratic, |
| therefore, were not uncommon for novice users who | | | | no-fun Romans) but also a formal position such as a |
| pulled the handle with varying degrees of vigor. With | | | | magistrature. |
| some tweaking on his invention, Burroughs | | | | The invention of the modern cubicle, meanwhile, is one |
| incorporated an a hydraulic device that enabled the | | | | of those ironic stories with which the history of |
| machine to operate properly regardless of the manner | | | | technology is rife. (Television was originally intended as |
| in which the handle might be pulled. | | | | an educational tool, for example.) Colorado designer |
| In the 1960s and 1970s, a revolution in calculating | | | | Robert Propst, working for Herman Miller, Inc, |
| machines was taking place as electronics for | | | | developed the cubicle as part of a 1965 "Action |
| calculators was at its cutting edge of research. | | | | Office" prototype. It seems Propst was trying to liven |
| Developing from large, expensive machines to small, | | | | up workplace design. |