# People collect those clip things that close the loaves of bread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635 "2025-03-16T00:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/41 "2025-03-18T18:30:45Z")
Collectors insurance is surprisingly cheap. I guess companies don’t have to pay out very often. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/42 "2025-03-18T18:39:38Z")
But what is the dollar value of e.g. 1,000 plastic clips? Another collector might want some of the rare ones, but selling the whole collection as a unit seems unlikely. Which is the only thing that could set a value on it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/43 "2025-03-18T18:48:40Z")
Replacement cost is what it is worth. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/44 "2025-03-18T18:51:47Z")
But what are we replacing? 1000 generic plastic clips that Amazon sells for WAG $10? Or those particular 1000 carefully curated no-two-alike clips from all over the world and across decades of time? if you’re buying collectors insurance, it’s the latter, not the former IMO. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/45 "2025-03-18T18:58:13Z")
Definitely the latter and the collector better get busy categorizing on a spreadsheet and taking pictures of the rarities. But if there isn’t really a replacement market, then they are irreplaceable and kind of arguably invaluable. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/46 "2025-03-18T19:00:16Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > They don’t just collect them, they have identified 9 different features of each clip and have applied scientific nomenclature. From the way the types are nested at the Holotypic Occlupanid Research Group (thanks **iiandyiiii** ) they’re not only describing them, they’re speculating on their evolutionary lines. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/47 "2025-03-18T19:30:20Z")
I have an _extremely_ rare 1947 plastic bread clip. Only 6 were made in that year due to the post office miners strike in Bolivia. One sold in 2004 for $18.6M ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/48 "2025-03-18T19:53:20Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > One sold in 2004 for $18.6M Jeeze, I came in posting what I thought was a hilarious jokey post about insuring them and making sure they were in a will (obviously wasn’t hilarious). Then I find some of these could be worth money. Shows you what I know. I’d just dump them in the landfill next to the harddrive overflowing with Bitcoins. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/49 "2025-03-18T20:22:45Z")
Collectors insurance requires a formal appraisal. Some things, like books and art, are fairly straightforward. Weird collections need to find somebody - usually in the community, but maybe an overall antiques dealer - that the insurance company will find acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/50 "2025-03-18T20:55:36Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > Or just spin and tuck under. > > Spin & Tuck, despite sounding like a sex act, is the right answer. What exactly do you spinning tuckers do? Presumably you hold the open end of the bag and spin the bag to close off the empth space between the bread and the opening, but what gets tucked where? ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/51 "2025-03-18T21:00:18Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > What exactly do you spinning tuckers do? Presumably you hold the open end of the bag and spin the bag to close off the empth space between the bread and the opening, but what gets tucked where? Upon spinning, you’ve created a- let’s call it a pigtail- that would unwind itself if placed down. So you tuck the end of the pigtail under the loaf so that the weight of the loaf keeps it from unwinding. In truth, you don’t really need the spin. You can just tuck. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/52 "2025-03-18T21:02:43Z")
I twist and use a wooden clothespin. I’ve done this for years and it works great. I find myself getting all twisted up with those ties and clips that the bread comes with and they go in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![corudstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@corudstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corudstr)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/53 "2025-03-18T21:20:32Z")
I used to work for a commercial fish processing/cannery company. We were looking for system to label the insulated totes of fish that we moved around with semi trucks and forklifts. Previously we stapled a label to the tote, but the food safety people did not like the possibility of a small metal staple ending up in our fish. I actually tracked down one of the company’s that makes these clips. We used the ones with a sturdy waterproof label attached to them. We used a Sharpie to put our info on the label and then snapped the plastic clip onto a hog ring that was permanently connected to the insulated fish tote. We orded them in batches of 10,000. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/54 "2025-03-18T21:31:46Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I have a small jar full. I noticed some users had switched to cardboard. I found them to be sub par. Broke easily and did not work nearly as well. I remember reading an article about elderly people making sandwiches and accidentally swallowing the plastic clips (which can cause a perforate bowel). > **[Small bowel perforation due to a plastic bread bag clip: the case for clip...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15932452/)** > > Complications of ingested plastic bread bag clips include small bowel perforation, obstruction, dysphagia, gastrointestinal bleeding and colonic impaction. There have been at least 10 cases of small bowel perforation reported in the published... [https://academic.oup.com/jscr/article/2022/6/rjac163/6609161](https://academic.oup.com/jscr/article/2022/6/rjac163/6609161) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/55 "2025-03-18T21:56:41Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > In truth, you don’t really need the spin. You can just tuck. Where is the fun in that? The spin jazzes it up! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/56 "2025-03-18T21:59:27Z")
No no no. You separate the opening after the spin and turn that over the loaf. Like rolling your socks. And…for those annoyed the bread is left open far too often they have Rubbermaid bread loaf holders. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/57 "2025-03-18T22:09:37Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > No no no. You separate the opening after the spin and turn that over the loaf. Like rolling your socks. I’ve done that a few times when I couldn’t find a clip. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > And…for those annoyed the bread is left open far too often they have Rubbermaid bread loaf holders. We need to get one of those or a traditional breadbox.\* One of our cats is altogether too fond od jumping onto the table or counter and chewing on plastic bags. \* Which things may or not be bigger than. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/58 "2025-03-18T23:22:33Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > The spin jazzes it up! The spin also vacuum seals it. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/59 "2025-03-19T00:22:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But what are we replacing? 1000 generic plastic clips that Amazon sells for WAG $10? Or those particular 1000 carefully curated no-two-alike clips from all over the world and across decades of time? When I mailed the material for my book to be published I had to send the original negatives (Over 1000), the original prints with captions from each one and all the written text representing over a years worth of research. I could only get it insured for the cost of the film and prints, a hundred bucks or so. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635/60 "2025-03-19T01:52:31Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > I twist and use a wooden clothespin. I’ve done this for years and it works great. I find myself getting all twisted up with those ties and clips that the bread comes with and they go in the trash. I actually prefer the clothespin, the S&T is the backup. Also use various sizes of binder clips for plastic bags of freezer items. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-collect-those-clip-things-that-close-the-loaves-of-bread/1015635.md?page=4)