<P> Events of that war contributed greatly to the mythical status of the paper clip . Patriots wore them in their lapels as a symbol of resistance to the German occupiers and local Nazi authorities when other signs of resistance, such as flag pins or pins showing the cipher of the exiled King Haakon VII of Norway were forbidden . Those wearing them did not yet see them as national symbols, as the myth of their Norwegian origin was not commonly known at the time . The clips were meant to denote solidarity and unity ("we are bound together"). The wearing of paper clips was soon prohibited, and people wearing them could risk severe punishment . </P> <P> The leading Norwegian encyclopedia mentioned the role of the paper clip as a symbol of resistance in a supplementary volume in 1952, but did not yet proclaim it a Norwegian invention . That information was added in later editions . According to the 1974 edition, the idea of using the paper clip to denote resistance originated in France . A clip worn on a lapel or front pocket could be seen as "deux gaules" (two posts or poles) and be interpreted as a reference to the leader of the French Resistance, General Charles de Gaulle . </P> <P> The post-war years saw a widespread consolidation of the paper clip as a national symbol . Authors of books and articles on the history of Norwegian technology eagerly seized it to make a thin story more substantial . They chose to overlook the fact that Vaaler's clip was not the same as the fully developed Gem - type clip . In 1989 a giant paper clip, almost 7 m (23 ft) high, was erected on the campus of a commercial college near Oslo in honour of Vaaler, ninety years after his invention was patented . But this monument shows a Gem - type clip, not the one patented by Vaaler . The celebration of the alleged Norwegian origin of the paper clip culminated in 1999, one hundred years after Vaaler submitted his application for a German patent . A commemorative stamp was issued that year, the first in a series to draw attention to Norwegian inventiveness . The background shows a facsimile of the German "Patentschrift". However, the figure in the foreground is not the paper clip depicted on that document, but the much better known "Gem". In 2005, the national biographical encyclopedia of Norway (Norsk biografisk leksikon) published the biography of Johan Vaaler, stating he was the inventor of the paper clip . </P> <P> Wire is versatile in its nature . Thus a paper clip is a useful accessory in many kinds of mechanical work including computer work: the metal wire can be unfolded with a little force . Several devices call for a very thin rod to push a recessed button which the user might only rarely need . This is seen on most CD - ROM drives as an "emergency eject" should the power fail; also on early floppy disk drives (including the early Macintosh). Various smartphones require the use of a long thin object such as a paper clip to eject the SIM card and some Palm PDAs advise the use of a paper clip to reset the device . The track ball can be removed from early Logitech pointing devices using a paper clip as the key to the bezel . A paper clip bent into a "U" can be used to start an ATX PSU without connecting it to a motherboard (connect the green to a black on the motherboard header). One or more paper clips can make a loopback device for a RS232 interface (or indeed many interfaces). A paper clip could be installed in a Commodore 1541 disk - drive as a flexible head - stop . A paper clip can be used (unsafely) to temporarily bridge a blown fuse . The steel wire from a paperclip can be used in dentistry to form a dental post . </P>

Is there a right way to use a paperclip