Divergent Thinking Fitness Test
Can you quickly come up with a list of uses for a paper clip? Go on, stretch your brain and set some dusty neurons alight. :)
The trick is to be random, don't try limit your creativity by overwhelming yourself with what's rational.
'Out the box' is when you can shift a context to spark fresh ideas.
Imagine
It's the end of the world, and you're left with a paper clip...
You see your nasty ex's car and find a paper clip in your pocket...
You're stranded on an island with a cargo load of paper clips...
To be really impressive you want to show a range of different task categories. For example, 5 ways to use a paper clip as a scratching tool, 5 ways for decoration, 5 for…etc.
To simply list all the different ways that it can be used to clip things together isn’t a sign of mental agility.
Each time you feel stuck, imagine being in a different room, or having a different career etc. and purposefully shift your context, change your mindset and release a new idea.
Here's my list, be sure to share yours if you do it ok! :)
Nail cuticle remover & cleaner
Bubble wrap popping tool
Carve fine details into nail polish on finger and toenails
Lock picker
Scratch tool for graffiti on plastic
Worm hook
Paper note / memo hanger
To make pixel holes in paper
Narrow crack dirt remover
Pixel Stamp
DVD drive opener
Aerial for radio
Aerial for small tv
Plastic hole maker
Scratch beneath a bandage or plaster of paris cast
Finger / toe splint
Ear rings
Make into alphabet letters
Make into numbers
Decorative string for hanging light ornaments
Necklace
bangle
Nappy clip
Nozzle unclogger
Water divining rod for idiots
Metal detector annoyance
Marshmallow sticks
Cheese picker
Mini skewers at a little people braai / barbecue
Cherry stalks holders at a buffet
Eye stalks, cherry on top for decorative cakes
Porcupine quills on a papier mache sculpture
Punch holes through polystyrene
Animal whiskers on a cake
Heat up and use as hair curling tongs for dolls
Dredlock detangler for when you change your mind
Hair accessory for sputnik hairstyles
Hair accessory for buns
Clean anything with grooves
Clean your cats nails
Scratch annoying black dirt away on oven dishes
Scratch ex’s car, scratch can go on forever as scratching sharpens clip
Scrape little chips of paint off surfaces
Gradually fray the rope of your rock climbing enemy
Suspend sheet in trees to make a canopy
Hold a small creeping vine in place
Sausage skin popper
Make holes in baked potatoes
Advanced sushi sticks
Meat skewer
Contents of a shaker – percussion music
Scratch enemies cd’s, dvd’s
Scratch dirt off coins
Hold bank notes together
Punch through the skin in oil paint tubes and silicon guns
Population demonstration (as in movie)
Clamping an artery
Toffee stick
Scratch into paint on glass for extra effect
Clean between bristles on a scrubbing brush
Remove hair from a broom or hair brush
Etching onto glass
Clean nozzles on aerosol spray cans
Remove excess grout from mosaics
Use the round part to massage the entrance of your ears and remove wax
Use round part to massage the webbing between fingers
Guitar pick
Use to carve into wet concrete
Tie around finger that’s been bitten by a snake
Tie around crayons and pencils so that they stick to a magnet
Use round part to tickle your nose
Scratch flaky skin off feet
Decorate a cat’s tail
Carve recipe onto pumkin / butternut / gem squash skin
Pop balloons
Stab shark’s nose
Hold decoration in place on a cocktail
Olive swizzle
Poke hole in take fast food tomato sauce satchels
Stems for flowers (real or fale)
Sun dial
Scratch name onto cactus leaves
Scratch name into fever tree
Golf tee
Goal posts on rugby / American football field model
Show jumping posts for model builders
Test hand eye coordination whilst moving paper clip along an electric wire
Move specimens around beneath a microscope
Hold a zip in place
Use as a button / clasp
Use to hold broken links in chain – jewellery
Hangers for empty silkworm cocoons
Hang paper clips on abacus instead of little balls
Nerve ending massager
Remove heavy plaque from teeth (Just sayin')
Hold a teabag in a cup
Orange cell squasher (not the segments but the poppy juicy cells)
Carving fine detail into a potato stamp
Make a chain maille vest
Tie around veggie bags / chip packets
Make shapes for a mobile
Join to create bangles and necklaces
Use in a ‘guess how many’ fundraiser
Convert into earrings
Hold above a magnet and pull away before it's attracted. You and the paperclip against the magnet.
Lift letters off a keyboard
Twist around cables to keep them together
Unwind it and make it circular so you have a ring
Bend it around the opening of a bag to keep the contents inside
The electric fence short? Span the space with paperclips.
Create a ladder for your birds
Trade if for something else till you have a house.
Bend it into an S and break it (like most do)
Did you know?
The design of the original paperclip has never been patented and no one’s sure about who or where it was invented.
Thank you for reading!
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