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Whose Invention Was the Safety Pin?
inventionshistoryeveryday objects
Quick Answer
The modern safety pin was invented by American mechanic Walter Hunt, who patented it in 1849.
The Full Story
Walter Hunt, a New York inventor, created the safety pin in 1849 by twisting a single piece of wire into a coil with a clasp to cover the point. According to the usual story, he invented it to pay off a debt of about $15. Hunt received a US patent on 10 April 1849 and sold the rights for $400. The buyer went on to earn far more from the invention. Similar pinned brooches called fibulae were used in the ancient Mediterranean thousands of years earlier.
Key Facts
1.The coil at the base acts as a spring that keeps the pin closed.
2.Hunt also built an early lockstitch sewing machine in the 1830s but did not patent it.
3.Ancient fibulae date back to the Bronze Age.
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The $400 deal that gave the world the safety pin."