Although many paper holding devices have been found amongst roman remains and preserved in peat bogs the paper-clip as we know it today did not in fact appear until about 18 BC. Invented by a German vicar salesman named Heinz Papper-Klipp it was originally constructed out of blamanche and chicken bone. Originally intended as an alternative way to tether camels the route it took is somewhat surprising. Its alternate use was not discovered until a toe curling tutor, Wettus Lettus Helixius, producing a news letter on the benefits of toe-curling in the home was looking for a way to hold the pages together. He had tried many of the existing methods such as a device constructed of nail-clippers and goat's milk, pioneered by Roman inventor Biggus-Sillius, but none was satisfactory. Then one day he was tethering his camel to a cabbage when he looked at the tethering device and realised it was just what he had been searching for all his life.

He immediately tracked down Heinz Papper-Klipp and with his production knowledge and Papper-Klipp's invention they went into business under the name of "Helixius Papper-Klipp". They toiled for hours over a name for this product. Considerations included the Wettus-Klipp, the Papper-Lettus and the Ford-Fiesta before it was eventually decided that the device should be called the Paper Clip, due to the fact that it clipped paper together, and the two words bore a striking similarity to the inventors surname.

Since those days the device has evolved somewhat, and although one occasionally still comes across the original blamanche and chicken bone construction , it is normally made of a substance known to experts as "Metal". It has also moved away from the original owners who saw themselves into comfortable retirements by selling paper clip franchises to companies all over the world despite the prevalent competition of the Bulldog clip, originally constructed of bulldog.