Office Supplies You'll Never See

Desk supplies haven't really advanced.  Sure, pens use gel ink.  But dry erase markers still stink.  Chairs have better cushions, yet they still find a way to inevitably squeak.  As the world continues to technologically evolve, is the office being left behind?

Perhaps.  

Off the top of my head, here's a list of items that I pray some engineer is working around the clock to produce.

- Bend-proof paperclips
- Everlasting ink pen
- Odor-free White Out
- Silent Stapler
- Unsmudgable high lighter
- Leak-proof 3-hole puncher
- Tape without seams
- Stain-free computer mouse

Learn more about the history of lo-tech office supplies.

What office supply inventions would you like to see?  Share yours below and win some cool prizes.

Comments

[Duane]

I don't understand some of these. Stain proof mouse? Mice stain? Leak proof hole punch? And what problems does the sound of a stapler cause, that you need a quiet one? Maybe it's too high tech, but I want someone to combine the whiteboard with the tear-off pad so that when I want to take a sketch with me I can -- but I still have the flexbility to scribble erase scribble like on a whiteboard, something a pad does not give you.

[Andrew G. Rosen]

- Stain-Proof Mouse: Maybe it's just my filthy hands, but every mouse I've ever owned starts to change colors due to dirt.

- Leak-Proof Hole Punch: You must have superpowers, my friend. Everyone I know, leaves a trail of paper circles when moving the darn thing from desk to desk.

- Noisy Stapler: Duane, you're lucky because you get to spend quite a bit of time working remotely. For those of us anchored to a cubicle all day in an open environment - we know how the noise level varies wildly. It goes from loud to dead silence instantly. It's not so much the stapler, but I wish everything was silent. People don't need to know when I'm typing, when I'm stapling or when I'm on the phone!

I love your idea. Like an adult Etch-a-Sketch built into a pad that could print?

[Duane]

Ah, now I see. I'm more of a keyboard guy. I don't stain mice, but I do "polish" the letters right off my keys. Right now, for instance, I have no A at all, and S, C, N and L are all on their way out the door.

Noise blocking is easy, headphones for the win. Then again I'm a software developer, I also get to walk around in my socks as well :).

[Arodgers]

How about a pen that automatically explodes when it is removed from my 10 x 10 work area?

[That Bloke]

A couple of the white boards in our office have printer attached below them so you can print out the combined thoughts of the meeting