# What is the name of this children's crafts thingy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929 "2013-04-17T11:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/1 "2013-04-17T11:28:37Z")
This is going to sound odd, I think. I am trying to find the English name for something. I’d appreciate some help, but it will be a bit of a rambling post. Well, when I was a small kid, many decades ago in Italy, my parents got me one of those little boxes with some kind of arts and crafts supplies to do your own little things - sparkly stuff, card, a tiny scissors, you know the type - and then one of the things I am trying the name of. It was basically a small bifurcated rivet, but the shaft of the thing was made of a metal so soft I could bend it with my little kiddy fingers. You would use it when making stuff out of cardboard; you poke a hole in two sheets, stick the rivet through both, bend open the bifurcated ends and the two pieces could rotate! Imagine if you were to make, say, a robot’s arm; with one of those at the shoulder you could have an arm that could move back and forth. Magic! And then I misplaced the thing, but that’s another story. Now I promised to build a robot for my daughter, and I want to make a _really_ nice one, like a good nerdy daddy, with moving arms, a rotating head and a secret compartment for candy and stuff. To do that I was thinking of using that kind of soft bifurcated rivets I remembered, but for the life of me I cannot find any of them, and attempts to search them on Google haven’t turned up anything yet. So, if anyone knows what I’m talking about, do they have a special name or a brand? How can I find them in the UK? As an alternative, can you suggest an alternative… thingy, I suppose… I can use? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/2 "2013-04-17T11:33:59Z")
I think you’re talking about paper brads. [https://www.google.com/search?q=paper+brads&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iohuUdTOK6rC4APi8oC4AQ&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=644](https://www.google.com/search?q=paper+brads&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iohuUdTOK6rC4APi8oC4AQ&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=644) Some a just plain paper fasteners. Some get really decorative. ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/3 "2013-04-17T11:37:55Z")
I knew those things as Split pins. (AKA, the things you use to make a paper clock! :P) ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/4 "2013-04-17T11:48:28Z")
And once again the Dopers deliver! I found them on Amazon as paper brads as well as split pins. I’ll try and look if shops in the area have them, and if not I’ll order them, and this weekend it will be _robot building time_! 🙂 **midnight-dreary** , a paper clock was exactly what I used my only split pin for first! Ah, the memories! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/5 "2013-04-17T12:50:10Z")
> [@Lars\_Aruns](#): > > So, if anyone knows what I’m talking about, do they have a special name or a brand? How can I find them in the UK? You can get them at Staples or Rymans as [paper fasteners](http://www.ryman.co.uk/0743025065/Essentials-Paper-Fasteners-20mm-Pack-of-60/Product), not any of the technical names. You anywhere near Eldon Square? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/6 "2013-04-17T12:54:28Z")
I think you’ll find them in Poundland in the UK ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/7 "2013-04-17T13:55:45Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You can get them at Staples or Rymans as [paper fasteners](http://www.ryman.co.uk/0743025065/Essentials-Paper-Fasteners-20mm-Pack-of-60/Product), not any of the technical names. You anywhere near Eldon Square? I’ll pass through Eldon Square on my way back. I’ll check if they have them in stock. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/8 "2013-04-17T15:15:57Z")
“Paper fastener” is the term I always saw used in craft instructions as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/9 "2013-04-17T15:51:58Z")
Just for completeness, checking in from SouthEast USA here - I’ve always known them as “brads.” ETA - excellent description, by the way. Very clear and complete! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/10 "2013-04-18T05:10:38Z")
I’ve also known them as [brads](http://www.skybluepink.com/brads.html), and you can get them in a variety of shapes and sizes, especially in hobby stores that cater to scrapbookers. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-this-childrens-crafts-thingy/655929/11 "2013-04-18T06:26:39Z")
Paper fasteners, sticky back plastic, double sided sticky tape. People of my generation have these three terms etched into their minds, because of this: > **[Blue Peter](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peter)** > > Blue Peter is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Television Centre in London until September 2011, when the programme moved to dock10 studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester. It is currently shown live on the CBBC television channel on Fridays at 5pm. The show is also repeated on Saturdays at Fo...