# Whats your favorite office supply to abuse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516 "2003-03-27T13:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhetherMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@WhetherMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhetherMan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/21 "2003-03-28T08:52:17Z")
What the heck is a post-it flag? I must be out of the loop because I only use those 1 1/2" standard yellow post-its. Or have I just missed along the way somewhere their alternative name of “flags?” Post-its galore here too…mainly on the front door to remind me of things before I head out…and, of course, the usual places in books, on desks, on the computer, etc. This is more abuse of use rather than abuse for the sake of enjoyment. To abuse an office product on purpose…the horror. Office products are my friends…ah organization… Anyone else love to hang out at Office Depot just because? By the way…that’s pretty funny, **Zenster** ,…picturing someone with that little tiny fluid brush to paint large-scale. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/22 "2003-03-28T08:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WhetherMan \* > Office products are my friends…ah organization… Anyone else love to hang out at Office Depot just because? Actually, that’s one of the ways I knew that my boyfriend was to be My One And Only. We can spend hours in Office Depot and Office Max together, going over the finer points of folder etiquette and debating the merits of various pens. We rarely buy anything, though. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/23 "2003-03-28T12:05:03Z")
Blank CDs - one day someone will actually do the math and work out that my section gets through more blank cds than the British Record Industry. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/24 "2003-03-28T13:27:35Z")
Post-it flags are my weakness. **Whetherman** (cool name!), they’re colorful tiny see-through, write-on-able stickies that can be used to mark pages in magazines, notebooks, etc. They’re just so fun to pull out of their little plastic holder (even if you don’t actually need one…) I’m also a paper clip bender. Hey, **Dante-Hicks** , aren’t you supposed to be at work today? Welcome to the boards! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/25 "2003-03-28T13:57:08Z")
I love to take the crusted White Up off the bottle threads and play with it. There’s something about the texture of it. And if you tell anyone, I will deny it. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/26 "2003-03-28T14:00:52Z")
One of the cool things about working in a hospital is that the office supplies I’ve got to abuse are so much more interesting than most. Sure you get white out pens, but do you get your very own unlimited supply of depends? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/27 "2003-03-28T14:26:23Z")
Rubber cement. So many fun things to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/28 "2003-03-28T16:47:45Z")
Abuse the office supplies? Never. Well… there is that little paper clip orgy that is going on atop my desk but I don’t know if I’d call that abuse. They seem to like it. What kind of sociopathic misfits would steal or… chew… pens? That’s just inhuman. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/29 "2003-03-28T17:15:00Z")
Paperclips! Oh, paperclips, how I love you. I can unbend you, and rebend you into many and divers shapes. I can clip two of you together! I can make long chains of paperclips. I make little paperclip sculptures. I play with you until I inevitably drop you on the floor. And then when I have no more paperclips on my desk, I clean you all up and start over again. I’ve even been known to wear you as earrings. I have a lot of nervous energy, can you tell? ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/30 "2003-03-28T17:53:00Z")
Just the T-1 connection for me!! And I do make the occasional long-distance phone call or fax. I’m not interested in the crappy-ass cheap-o pens they buy here at work. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by garius \* > \*\*Blank CDs - one day someone will actually do the math and work out that my section gets through more blank cds than the British Record Industry. \*\* Y’know, that gives me an idea…hmmmmm… (My husband and I FINALLY bought a CD burner, but forgot to pick up any CDs,) ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/31 "2003-03-28T18:15:14Z")
Scissors. I work at a newspaper and after deadline we all have a huge pile of proofs, so – paper doll time! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/32 "2003-03-28T18:31:47Z")
I have our secretary order a day-at-a-glance calendar refill for my calendar holder thingy. Then whenever I need to write a note, I just rip off whatever day is on top and tape it to my monitor. It’s waaaay more expensive than post-its. I’m currently up to October 16, 1999 on the left side and May 26, 2000 on the right side. ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/33 "2003-03-28T19:21:50Z")
I don’t work in an office yet. But at summer internships, engineering paper! Funny how most of my homework in September and October is done on engineering paper with company logos on it. I’m practicing being professional. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/34 "2003-03-28T19:50:06Z")
Batteries. I don’t know why they keep getting ordered but I sure am glad they do. My small appliances are grateful as well. Also I love those staple removers that are kind of like scissors, which you squeeze together and it bends the staple in half. Fun ! I can’t take it back to my desk though because there’s only one in the office. ---
**Author:** ![lovelyluka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f475e1/32.png) [@lovelyluka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lovelyluka)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/35 "2003-03-28T20:05:05Z")
Well…besides the bandwidth… I’m a student who works in an office, and I don’t think I’ve bought pencils since I started here. 😃 It’s also very convenient to print all the weekly 10-page handouts that my professors post online at the office instead of at home… ---
**Author:** ![Misery\_s\_Company](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Misery\_s\_Company](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_s_Company)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/36 "2003-03-28T20:24:25Z")
I am a consultant. One of my clients has really cool colored post-its, and I find myself with them in my hand the whole time I am in their office. At home, I go through notecards. I use them for everything…grocery list, notes, to do lists, doodle, paper airplanes, etc. They are stuck all over my house, and I constantly have to buy more. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/37 "2003-03-28T20:45:03Z")
i play with tape… mine, the store rooms, other peoples… it’s like a habit… i won’t even notice. I’ll tape up my fingers, i’ll roll it into a ball… i’ll just mess with it in general. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/38 "2003-03-28T20:51:27Z")
Rubber bands. I have a softball-sized ball on my desk, made entirely of rubber bands (even the center. Anything else would be cheating). I think I’m the only person who USES rubber bands in the office… without me, the rubber band supplier would take a hit. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/39 "2003-03-28T21:23:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WhetherMan \* > **What the heck is a post-it flag? I must be out of the loop because I only use those 1 1/2" standard yellow post-its. Or have I just missed along the way somewhere their alternative name of “flags?” Post-its galore here too…mainly on the front door to remind me of things before I head out…and, of course, the usual places in books, on desks, on the computer, etc. This is more abuse of use rather than abuse for the sake of enjoyment.** [Post-it flags,](http://www.3m.com/us/office/postit/products_flags.jhtml) the greatest thing on earth. ---
**Author:** ![sycorob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@sycorob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sycorob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516/40 "2003-03-28T22:21:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KRM \* > \*\*I have our secretary order a day-at-a-glance calendar refill for my calendar holder thingy. \*\* Our office decide that those day-at-a-glance calendars are somehow better/cheaper than the original month at a time calendars. So I too rip off days to write notes on. I have huge gaps. I love those black, triangular binder clip thingies (with the two little metal arms to lever them open?) For some reason we have every possible size. So I clip little ones to big ones, make chains, take them apart to put my laptop on stilts (so it won’t overheat, yaknow), make little sculptures… I’ve heard they’re good for holding papers together, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-office-supply-to-abuse/164516.md?page=3)