BBB Geeky Novelty

With the possible exception of the slide rule, what better symbol of geekdom is there than a pocket protector? And when it comes to such things, John A. Pojman is one guy who knows from pocket protectors. He has an impressive collection of over 500 of these polyvinyl chloride sheaths.

The original pocket protector was invented by Hurley Smith during the Second World War. While working in Buffalo, Smith was concerned not only about the ink and pencil stains that would get on the white shirts that were the required costume for any engineer in those days, but with the fraying around the edges of the pocket that the pressure from items in the pocket produced. Back then, the traditional housewife purchased shirts with the expectation that would last for a long time even with constant washing, bleaching, and ironing.

Plastics used in manufacturing had become quite an exciting development during WWII, and Smith experimented with various materials for solving the fraying/ink-stained shirt problem. He first used a stiff clear colorless plastic. He had tall, thin rectangles of this material made, then used a Pitney-Bowes letter folder to fold it twice, once approximately in half and once on one end to produce a flap that would extend over the top edge of the shirt pocket.

Find out more about the history of this life changing product here.