A pocket protector is a sheath designed to hold writing instruments and other small implements in a shirt's breast pocket, protecting it from tearing or staining. It may be used to carry

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

screwdriver A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver has been repla ...

s, small slide rules, and other small items. A flap over the outside of the pocket helps to secure the pocket protector. Pocket protectors were originally made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Invention

The pocket protector was invented during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by Hurley Smith while he was working in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. He was awarded for the device on March 18, 1947; the patent was filed on June 3, 1943. A competing claim for the invention came from Long Island plastics magnate Gerson Strassberg around 1952. Strassberg was working on plastic sleeves for bankbooks. One day he placed one that he was working on into his shirt pocket while he took a phone call. When he noticed it there, he realized it would make a great product.

Use

Pocket protectors imprinted with logos or company names were first marketed to companies as

promotional merchandise Promotional merchandise are products branded with a logo or slogan and distributed at little or no cost to promote a brand, corporate identity, or event. Such products, which are often informally called promo products, swag (mass nouns), tchot ...

. A more general market soon arose, made up of students, engineers, and white-collar workers in a variety of fields. They have become part of a "

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

" or "

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a general ...

" fashion stereotype, probably because of their association with engineers or students.

Notes

References

* Slatalla, Michelle
"Classic Nerdwear; Pocket Protector, Image Projector"
''New York Times'' 24 June 1999.

External links

*
Webseum of Pocket Protectors
Fashion accessories {{fashion-stub