# What did workers have on their desks 50+ years ago? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388 "2009-08-05T04:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/41 "2009-08-06T18:56:36Z")
Adding machines were too big for a desk. They had a small desk for several people to use. Then they started taking punch cards. That was programming. You could actually use them for Trig. functions. Adding machines were also noisy. They clicked like the first printers. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/42 "2009-08-07T03:49:53Z")
> [@Rodd\_Hill](#): > > Ooh! Just remembered going to my dad’s (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) office in the late 1960s, and playing with the rotating wire holder full of various rubberstamps. Good times. Still have his top-notch fingerprint magnifying glass on my desk at home. Oh, yeah, I loved those date stamps with the little rotating belts of numbers! At my last job, I was assigned to clean out somebody’s office and throw out everything. I came home with a rubberstamp that says **OBSOLETE.** I’d like to have one, a la Firesign Theater, that says, **AFTER FOUR YEARS, PAINT BROWN.** ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/43 "2009-08-07T05:11:19Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I’m only 33, but I’ll take a guess… > > Writing implements, perhaps in a cup > Pencil sharpener > Eraser > Typewriter & accessories: letterhead paper, carbon paper, correction tape, etc. > Envelopes, sealing thingie with water & sponge tip > Stamps > Letter scale > Adding machine/calculator > Intercom > Phone > Phone message pad > Pads of paper, notebooks > Rolodex > … etc. … Most of that stuff was INSIDE a desk drawer, not on one’s desk. The stuff on an executive’s desk could include the phone, intercom, blotter, pen stand, in and out boxes, various rubber stamps, lamp, photos, that’s about it. For non-execs, desks are generally quite bare as they’re usually in open office environments and some firms even had rules about keeping one’s desk clear and tidy at the end of the day. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/44 "2009-08-07T05:46:45Z")
You forget the Rolodex. Since 1958. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/45 "2009-08-07T11:20:02Z")
> [@nivlac](#): > > Most of that stuff was INSIDE a desk drawer, not on one’s desk. The stuff on an executive’s desk could include the phone, intercom, blotter, pen stand, in and out boxes, various rubber stamps, lamp, photos, that’s about it. For non-execs, desks are generally quite bare as they’re usually in open office environments and some firms even had rules about keeping one’s desk clear and tidy at the end of the day. There were plenty of cluttered desks in the past. Stuff piled 6 inches deep is not new. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/46 "2009-08-07T15:21:49Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I would hang out in the office while Mom ran the Addressograph Holy Cow, we still have an Addressograph machine in our office! I work at a small local savings & loan and for some of our older accounts we still have the addressograph plates for them! Sometimes I use it to stamp the return address on their payment envlopes, the older folks love it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388/47 "2009-08-07T18:57:24Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > [Spindles.](https://www.ibmilw.com/images/items/FEL50122_2_1.JPG) Remember “do not fold, spindle, or mutilate?” You need a spindle if you’re going to spindle something. OMG, that’s what those are? And that’s what a spindle is??!! Thank you for the education. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-workers-have-on-their-desks-50-years-ago/505388.md?page=2)