Rock, Paper, SCISSORS!

Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They are can be used for cutting various materials: paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin plastic, cloth, rope, wire, hair and food. Similar instruments bur larger in size for heavier cutting are called shears.

There are many types of scissors and shears for different purposes. For example, children's scissors, used only on paper, have dull blades and rounded corners to ensure safety. Scissors used to cut hair or fabric must be much sharper. The largest shears used to cut metal need to have very strong, sharp blades.

The most likely date scissors were first invented is around 1500 BC. The first known scissors on record appeared around in ancient Egypt and parts of the Middle East. They were 'spring scissors’- two blades held together at the handle by a curved, flexible piece of bronze that allowed blades to be brought together when squeezed and pulled apart when released. The modern design however, cross-blade scissors, was invented by the Romans around AD 100. They entered common use in ancient Rome, China, Japan, and Korea. Spring scissors continued to be used in Europe until the sixteenth century.

Although there is a lot of speculation surrounding further innovations and modifications, the final step in creating modern scissors was documented in London. In 1761 Robert Hinchcliffe produced the first pair of modern-day scissors made of hardened and cast steel. He was the first person to proclaiming himself ‘fine scissor manufacturer.’

During the nineteenth century, scissors were hand-forged with elaborately decorated handles. The rings in the handles, known as bows, were made by punching a hole in the steel and enlarging it with the pointed end of an anvil.

Did you know…?

• For people who do not have the use of their hands, there are specially designed foot operated scissors. Some quadriplegics can use a motorized mouth-operated style of scissor.
• Playing Rock Paper Scissors, a game invented in China between 206 BCE and 220 CE, is a very popular way to resolve personal disputes.
• Neerja Roy Chowdhury holds Guiness World Record for the largest pair of scissors ever made. It is 7 feet 7 inches long, weighs around 25 kg and functions just like normal scissors.
• Scissors have many superstitions surrounding them. The most popular ones include:

Scissors should always be sold, never given as a gift. Doing so may cause problems in a friendship by cutting the relationship in half.

Placing a pair of scissors under the pillow of a woman in labour will ‘cut her pain in half’. The same goes for any other type of pain.

A pair of scissors hung above a door, their open position forming a cross, was said to protect a household from witchcraft and evil influences attempting to enter the house.

You will 'cut off' fortune if you use scissors on New Year's Day.

Scissors should be put away during thunderstorms to decrease the likelihood that the house will be struck by lightning.

Dropping a pair of scissors is said to warn that a lover is unfaithful.

Breaking one blade of a pair of scissors is an omen of quarrelling and discord; if both blades are broken at once it is