# Perfect initial design. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358 "2010-06-15T22:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/1 "2010-06-15T22:21:56Z")
Can anyone give an example of a product that has never been improved upon or modified in any way. My friends and I have been throwing this around for a while. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/2 "2010-06-15T22:29:55Z")
The humble paperclip doesn’t seem to have changed over time, as you can see from [this](http://jaksview3.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/paperclip.jpg) advert dated 1894. The more simple the design the less likely it is to I have changed I would imagine. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/3 "2010-06-15T22:39:07Z")
The wooden spoon. Every so often as I’m making dinner, I reach for my wooden spoon and smile, realizing that some Neanderthal woman probably prepared dinner for her family with a nearly identical tool. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/4 "2010-06-15T22:45:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > The wooden spoon. > > Every so often as I’m making dinner, I reach for my wooden spoon and smile, realizing that some Neanderthal woman probably prepared dinner for her family with a nearly identical tool. This is what I’m getting at! very nice. I would exclude the humble paperclip as they can be found with rubber or plastic coatings in many colors. Please keep em coming. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/5 "2010-06-15T22:45:39Z")
The safety pin. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/6 "2010-06-15T22:47:10Z")
Amusingly, there’s really no need to build a better mousetrap. The classic snap trap was invented in the late 19th century and has remained unchanged. Other types have been invented, but the snaps are still perfectly good. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/7 "2010-06-15T23:00:00Z")
In the words of Jack Handey, of _Deep Thoughts by_ fame: > [@](#): > > Probably the earliest fly swatters were nothing more than some sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/8 "2010-06-15T23:02:24Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > This is what I’m getting at! very nice. I would exclude the humble paperclip as they can be found with rubber or plastic coatings in many colors. > > Please keep em coming. Well, but cooking spoons can also be found in plastic, metal, silicone, with rubber grips or in many colors. The basic paperclip is still the widest in use, as is the most basic wooden spoon. I’d give 'em points for paperclip. But wooden spoon is way older. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/9 "2010-06-15T23:03:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The safety pin. Or better yet, the straight pin. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/10 "2010-06-15T23:04:01Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > The humble paperclip doesn’t seem to have changed over time, as you can see from [this](http://jaksview3.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/paperclip.jpg) advert dated 1894. > > The more simple the design the less likely it is to I have changed I would imagine. There were quite a few [competing designs](http://www.officemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm) (scroll down). The familiar Gem didn’t win out until later in the early 20th Century. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/11 "2010-06-15T23:04:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > The wooden spoon. > > Every so often as I’m making dinner, I reach for my wooden spoon and smile, realizing that some Neanderthal woman probably prepared dinner for her family with a nearly identical tool. Yeah, but some caveperson invented the newfangled wooden spoon to replace the old fashioned stirring stick. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/12 "2010-06-15T23:08:58Z")
The Model 1911 Colt .45 ACP. With only trivial modifications, this firearm has been in active use by military, police, and the public for 99 years. How many other products can claim a comparable useful lifetime? ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/13 "2010-06-15T23:11:07Z")
Straight pins can be found with plastic ball ends or even “t” shaped ends. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/14 "2010-06-15T23:14:20Z")
Would you allow something along the lines of the cross stitch? It isn’t technically a product so much as a method that leads to a product but I would imagine that it has been around for a very very long time and is still used today. That or some kind of knot maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/15 "2010-06-15T23:31:58Z")
Boomerangs have been coming back for 10.000 years. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/16 "2010-06-15T23:32:08Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > Would you allow something along the lines of the cross stitch? It isn’t technically a product so much as a method that leads to a product but I would imagine that it has been around for a very very long time and is still used today. That or some kind of knot maybe? I suppose the hangman’s noose is tried and true. This all started with me asking for examples at a table of friends. The first response was “aglet”, quickly shot down due to the number of different materials used in addition to the many many different styles and colors in use. I’m looking for items in common every day use by most people. I was thinking of the good old fashioned “church key” bottle opener but its a no go due to having rubber grips or being in the shape of Homer Simpson, see? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/17 "2010-06-15T23:47:02Z")
I doubt there is anything. Not all wooden spoons are useful, and we probably can’t find out what the first one was like. I think there is some improvement that could be made in anything. If for no other reason than 6.5 billion people never agreeing on anything. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/18 "2010-06-15T23:52:57Z")
Just because the design was changed doesn’t mean the change was an improvement. Just because the design has not been changed doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be. In short, your search criteria don’t match what you’re trying to find. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/19 "2010-06-16T00:01:57Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Just because the design was changed doesn’t mean the change was an improvement. > > Just because the design has not been changed doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be. > > In short, your search criteria don’t match what you’re trying to find. Good points. Might be more interesting to look at the things that shouldn’t have been changed. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358/20 "2010-06-16T00:18:41Z")
It occurs to me that there are any number of foods and beverages that are still produced using recipes and methods that are centuries old, so that should probably count for something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-initial-design/543358.md?page=2)