Thumbtack

Thumbtack

Be careful not to drop your thumbtacks.

Thumbtacks are small items that have a ‘head’ attached to a sharp tip, or body, which can be inserted into a board to hold items in place or used as a marker.
‘Thumbtacks’ are also known as ‘map tacks’, ‘push pins’, ‘drawing pins’, and ‘chart pins’, with various word combinations, sometimes without spaces or with hyphens.
Thumbtacks bodies are typically made of metal such as brass, tin, stainless steel or iron, and the head is usually plastic, wood or metal.
Thumbtacks are typically pushed into a softer solid, like cork, using one’s fingers and arm strength.
Thumbtacks traditionally have a circular or cylindrical head, although they can be other shapes, and the head can be raised, flat, bevelled or indented.

Swallowing thumbtacks can cause great internal damage, including choking and tissue damage.
Contrary to popular belief, the thumbtack was invented as early as the mid 1870s, although the British term ‘drawing pin’ was in use sometime in the 1850s or 1860s, and patents exist for the item as early as the 1890s.
Thumbtacks can be dangerous if dropped and left unnoticed on the floor, as upward facing pins can be easily stepped on, although some designs are more likely to face downwards if dropped.
Thumbtacks were historically used by draftsmen for the purpose of attaching paper to a drawing board, hence the name ‘drawing pin’.
Thumbtacks come in a variety of sizes, colours and shapes, that are often used for different purposes, such as in art or as markers, and they are generally considered as stationery items.

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