<P> Thumb tacks made of brass, tin or iron may be referred to as brass tacks, brass pins, tin tacks or iron tacks, respectively . These terms are particularly used in the idiomatic expression to come (or get) down to brass (or otherwise) tacks, meaning to consider basic facts of a situation . </P> <P> Drawing pins were invented in name and as a mass produced item in the United States the mid / late 1750s . They are first mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1759 . It was said that the use of the newly invented drawing pin to attach notices to school house doors was making significant contribution to the whittling away of their gothic doors . Modern drawing pins were also found as standard in architects' drawing boxes in the late 18th century . </P> <P> Edwin Moore patented the "push - pin" in the US in 1900 and founded the Moore Push - Pin Company . Moore described them a pin with a handle . Later, in 1903, in Lychen, German clockmaker Johann Kirsten invented flat - headed pins for use with drawings . </P> <P> A drawing pin has two basic components: the head, often made of plastic, metal or wood, and the body, usually made of steel or brass . The head is wide to distribute the force of pushing the pin in, allowing only the hands to be used . Many head designs exist: flat, domed, spherical, cylindrical and a variety of novelty heads such as hearts or stars . Drawing pin heads also come in a variety of colours . These can be particularly useful to mark different locations on a map . Some drawing pin designs have the body cut out of the head and bent downward to produce a pin . </P>

Why is metal used to make drawing pins or staples