Brief History: How the Paper Shredder Came to Exist

24 Jun.,2024

 

Brief History: How the Paper Shredder Came to Exist

Paper shredding machines don&#;t really receive very much mental attention; they aren&#;t exactly a hot topic of discussion. Many people don&#;t know about the fascinating history behind the paper machine, and the major socio-political events that helped it evolve into their current states.

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The earliest known patent that was filed for a paper shredding device was submitted in New York City in by Abbot Augustus Low. Despite filing the patent, the device was never manufactured during Low&#;s lifetime.

In the first known paper shredder was made by Adolf Ehinger. Supposedly it worked similarly to a hand-cranked pasta maker, where users would turn a crank while documents were pulled through and cut up. Ehinger made the device supposedly to destroy his anti-Nazi propaganda in order to avoid being questioned by authorities.

Following the second world war, Ehinger targeted governments and financial institutions with his device, and eventually replaced the hand crank with an electric motor. The events of the Cold War brought document shredders into the spotlight, and their popularity increased rapidly with the constant threat of espionage. Until the mid-80&#;s the most common users of paper shredders were government entities.

One event that instigated a major change in document destruction design was the Iran hostage crisis of . After having used standard cutting paper shredders to destroy sensitive documents, it was discovered by Iranian hostage takes that the strips could simply be realigned to reveal the information that was intended to be destroyed. This prompted the invention of cross-cutting shredders, which remain in constant use today.

Today, privacy concerns brought in by the era of technology have continued the story of the paper shredder. With legislations in the US such as FACTA and HIPAA being introduced to combat identity theft, and the FTC making a recommendation for consumers to shred financial documents before disposal, document shredders are not likely going anywhere anytime soon.

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The Brief History of Paper Document Shredding

Posted by Capital Shredder Corp. on 8/10/

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Paper shredders didn&#;t always look like the high-tech machines we know and use today. If you&#;re curious about the early days of paper shredding and how early shredders came to be, keep reading to learn a brief history of paper document shredding.

The First Paper Shredder

Would you believe that the first paper shredder design was patented over a century ago? A New York inventor named Abbot Augustus Lowe created the first paper shredder in . He wanted to invent a wastepaper receptacle that improved the way we disposed of paper materials. He filed for a patent of his invention in February of and received approval in August . Unfortunately, Lowe died before completing the construction and replication of his machine.

The Paper Shredder in WWII

The next notable installment of paper document shredding was its involvement during World War II. In , a man named Adolf Ehinger used a machine similar to a hand-crank pasta maker to shred his confidential documents. He likely created and used his machine to destroy information that would lead back to him and his anti-Nazi propaganda printing practices. He patented his own machine in , and the machine took off in Germany after Ehinger unveiled his invention at a trade show and promoted it.

Paper Shredders Become Widespread

Now that you know the origins of the paper shredder, you might be wondering how it grew from its meager beginnings into the mass-produced machines we use today. The average consumer or business outside of government institutions didn&#;t see a need for such a device until the s. A court ruling in stated that the Fourth Amendment did not prohibit search and seizure of documents left in garbage outside the home. This sudden ruling sparked the importance of document security and paper shredding for many consumers. This was when households and businesses alike started utilizing the paper shredders we know and use today.

Did you learn something new about paper shredders with this brief look at the history of document shredding? If you&#;re interested in learning more about the features of modern shredders and how they work, check out our selection of high-security shredders and more at Capital Shredder Corp.

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