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Show ROMANS USED SAFETY PINS That Many Familiar Articles Are of Anelont Origin Has Bsen Proved by Finds Msde. line fashioned eiaclly like those of today called by us "safety pins," have been found In Roman and Etruscan tombs, some being referred to a period prior to the birth of Christ The safety pin, It seems, was an article ar-ticle of common use In Italy long before be-fore the Roman empire attained the height of Its glory. The material of which they wero made, however, seems always to have been bronze. The collar stud Is another ancient Invention. While It la true the old Romans did not make use of buttons for the purpose of fastening their garments, gar-ments, and they wore no collars, yet they possessed a sort of collar stud, which was used In conjunction with the safety pin In a number of ways. Who would Imagine that the little paper faatener, with which we are familiar, fa-miliar, the brass device that holds a number of loose sheets of paper together, to-gether, was more than two thousand years old? Yet such Is the fact, since such a device was employed by the Roman soldiers of that era as an Incidental Inci-dental of their costumes or uniform. Tbe belt of thin copper worn by the old legions was fastened to a strip of cloth, serving aa a lining, with a aerlea of little bronze clamps precisely like the psper fastener In principle. Thimbles are ancient. Some specimens speci-mens are known to be 2.500 years old. They are of bronze, and their outer surfaces show the familiar Indents-tlona Indents-tlona for engaging the head of the needle. Tbeae thimbles are preclaely like our modern onea, except that they have no tops to cover tbe end of tbe finger. |