# What causes a crease in paper to stay that way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2001, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-crease-in-paper-to-stay-that-way/73028 "2001-07-19T06:50:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-crease-in-paper-to-stay-that-way/73028/1 "2001-07-19T06:50:29Z")
I could have thought of a boring-er question but I think this suffices for now. I was playing with a medical-type of wrist band from a party\* and noticed that when I folded it, it stuck. I wondered what was happening down there on the molecular level. Was it a magnetic attraction or adhesion caused by particles being smashed together, like digging a trench in a field and having two large piles of dirt on either side of the trench, preventing the land from laying flat again(if you can picture the metaphor, basically a displacement of matter). Does anyone know what is happening there? \*If you were wondering, “No, I was completely sober at the party.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-crease-in-paper-to-stay-that-way/73028/2 "2001-07-19T11:39:20Z")
For plastic you are actually causing the long chains of polymers to slide to new ‘streached out’ positions. As for paper - My guess is something simlular. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-crease-in-paper-to-stay-that-way/73028/3 "2001-07-20T06:02:49Z")
**JELL-O** 😃