The Humble Clothespin: Engineering Genius in Your Laundry Room
The Simple Tool With Ancient Roots : The clothespin sitting in your laundry basket has a longer history than you might imagine. Ancient Romans used wooden or bone pins to secure their togas and tunics. However, the spring-loaded clothespin we know today was invented in 1853 by David Smith of Vermont. His design combined two wooden prongs with a metal spring, creating the perfect balance of grip and flexibility. Before this invention, people used straight pins that often damaged fabric or simple forked sticks that barely held clothing on the line.