Talk:Trapper Keeper

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No metal? WTH?

We absolutely had metal rings in our trapper keepers in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the Lisa frank branded ones. I remember one year I had one that kept jamming and I had to pull it open by hand instead of using the tabs. Pretty sure that wouldn’t have been as memorable with plastic. Probably would have hurt less when it punched you, too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.222.62.229 (talk) 02:06, 14 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

?

Is this a parody of Terminator 2 AND Akira, or just coincidence about akira? Ragzouken 20:38, 5 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I want one!

Where can I find one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.113.166.4 (talk • contribs) 21:50, January 30, 2006

Well, according to www.trapperkeeper.com they say that Mead will release the newer Trapper Keeper this fall, and will come with you can slip a picture in the cover under the clear sheeting, and has magnetic flap.

UPDATE: they are now available in at least some Staples stores as of July 2007, with a larger rollout by the fall in other stores.

Why do schools hate the Trapper Keeper?

I had one as a kid in school, and it was great. Now, every class supply list says, "NO TRAPPER KEEPERS!", as if these things are the spawn of satan. What gives? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.135.235.41 (talk • contribs) 12:57, March 14, 2006

Most of the elementary schools blocked Trapper Keepers, 3-ring binders, and similar things. -—Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

Are you serious? Why would a school ban Trapper Keepers? -76.4.49.201 20:11, 10 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I did some googling and apparently, it's because Trapper Keepers are too large to fit in some desks. --SHODAN 01:29, 13 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I believe the Trapper Keepers are almost the same size as the 3-ring binders. --TyrannoRanger

From (admittedly long past) conversations with teachers, it's because of the noise the closures make. Repeatedly opening and closing the Velcro seal is a distraction in classrooms. I'm not sure if the new magnetic clasps have the same problem. Etherjammer (talk) 00:17, 18 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Who actually invented the Trapper Keeper?

See story with interviews: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/815/how-i-learned-to-shave/act-one-0 Gfischershaw (talk) 19:27, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Gfischershaw, that story isn't available until tomorrow. Schazjmd (talk) 20:42, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I listened to it today on NPR. I supposed there is a day delay. Interviews with the children of Crutchfield, and with "Trapper" John and his family members. Gfischershaw (talk) 21:20, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The NPR story references the NYTimes obituary at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/e-bryant-crutchfield-dead.html. The name of the designer "Jon Wyant"

It sounds like Crutchfield had the idea for vertical folders (or borrowed the idea from PeeChees - https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52726/history-trapper-keeper), but Wyant created the actual prototype of the Trapper Keeper folders and the binder around the folders. Ap201131 (talk) 18:20, 19 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Mental Floss describes Crutchfield designing the portfolio and Wyant coming up with the name: So Crutchfield had a mock-up of his product, but he still didn’t have a name. That came from his research and development manager, Jon Wyant. “I said, ‘I need a name for this damn thing. Have you got any ideas?’” Crutchfield remembers. The next day, they were drinking a martini with lunch when Wyant said, “Let’s call the portfolio the Trapper.” The obit says the same thing, that Crutchfield designed it and Wyant suggested the name. Schazjmd (talk) 18:31, 19 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, Jon Wyant has the patent for the first diagonal folder before the Trapper portfolio was created. Patent #US3870223A 1974 - Double wing pocket portfolio and file folder - Abstract from patent: The twin pocket portfolio and file folder of claim 1 wherein said front inner panel slit is diagonally oriented and said rear inner panel slit is transversely oriented. Inventor Jon Richard Wyant. Therefore, the Trappers were an offshoot of this patent and not a new idea by Crutchfield. Cloverdigitalmedia (talk) 22:37, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I just listened to it this morning (Monday 11/20) and it definitely provides good source material for an edit to the current Wikipedia entry. Jon Wyant's name should certainly be in this general entry for the Trapper Keeper. He engineered it, and sounds like he came up with the name. Crutchfield deserves credit for generating an idea for it and his marketing skills contributed to its success as a product with widescale public appeal. If someone else wants to edit the piece, go ahead. If not, I will. (I had never heard of the Trapper Keeper before listening to This American Life today. May have used one in some form or other.) Abrengle (talk) 13:34, 20 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Now that I've been able to listen to the episode, I've added a footnote to document the competing claim. Schazjmd (talk) 14:30, 20 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Here is he transcript for the This American Life episode.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/815/transcript Ap201131 (talk) 02:08, 21 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The story implies that most of what Crutchfield said was hyperbole. The only source we have for Crutchfields version is someone who's dead, (Crutchfield himself). His own kids thought he's exaggerated, and describe their own father as what I'd describe as a "bullshit artist".

It deserves far more than a footnote, and more like an entire section about how the creation of it is under dispute. Vellmont (talk) 04:02, 23 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Independent sources credit Crutchfield with the creation. The only source we have that it's incorrect is Wyant claiming he is the one who created it. The article summarizes the sources and acknowledges Wyant's counter-claim. Absent any continuing coverage that gives the dispute more attention, that's sufficient. Schazjmd (talk) 13:51, 23 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It seems like many of the “independent sources” may have ultimately been sourced from the single Mentalfloss article.

Not sure how to deal with that, but wanted to point that out. Ap201131 (talk) 14:30, 24 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Mental Floss article had to be corrected (6/24) due to new evidence that proves Jon Wyant was the inventor of the Trapper Keeper. The obituary writer at the New York Times was made aware that his story was based on a lack of fact checking. Also, an interview this summer was released by a journalist who investigated the dispute.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52726/history-trapper-keeper

https://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/feature/st-joseph-inventor-brings-nostalgia-through-popular-school-supplies/article_1aadea90-5fc6-11ef-a8cf-0b17ce3e60a0.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share Cloverdigitalmedia (talk) 22:30, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Jon not only created it and named it, but he designed the logo as well. And he holds a patent that is considered the Trapper Keeper patent. Jon Wyant’s invention patent #US3968546. Cloverdigitalmedia (talk) 22:45, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Actual designer

Jon Wyant, a research and development manager at Mead, made a significant contribution to the creation of the Trapper Keeper. He suggested the name "Trapper Keeper" for the binder that could hold the folders with vertical pockets, which ultimately became the iconic product. Additionally, Wyant designed the shape of the binder, the shape of the folders, the flap closure, the logo, and even the plastic clipboard in the back with the spot for the pencil, resulting in a full three-dimensional prototype

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/815/transcript Reagle (talk) 21:36, 26 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"Jon Wyant, a research and development manager at Mead, says he made a significant contribution to the creation of the Trapper Keeper." Fixed that attribution. Schazjmd (talk) 21:43, 26 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Interviews with several former Mead employees stated that Jon Wyant did in fact invent it. These interviews were used as facts in the This American Life podcast as well as the corrected Mental Floss article. The "says he" correction is inapplicable as it infers that only he says it to be so. Cloverdigitalmedia (talk) 22:50, 14 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]