Wish I Would Have Kept My Trapper Keeper

We found a modern Trapper Keeper at Kmart!

The modern Trapper Keeper replaces the Velcro with a snap.

Did you know the folders are called "Trappers"?

Back to school time means stores unleash mass quantities of school supplies.

When I think of school supplies, the venerable Trapper Keeper by Mead immediately comes to mind.

I had one in elementary school. It was sort of "the thing" in binder-folder-holder mechanisms in the 1980s. Anything else just didn't cut it.

Here is an ad from the early 80s: 

Yes, that is future "Full House" star Lori Loughlin telling her classmate to get a Trapper Keeper, and when Aunt Becky tells you to get a Trapper Keeper, you get a Trapper Keeper.

According to an extensive profile of the folder-binder system on mentalfloss.com, Mead sold $100 million in folders and binders per year in the time immediately following the Trapper Keeper's nationwide launch.

Significant market research went into the product, which likely explains Trapper Keeper's success — and longevity.

How a relatively pedestrian item has become something of a pop culture icon is anyone's guess.

The early binders have nostalgic appeal. I noticed a couple on eBay going for $150+ dollars, and several are available for varying amounts.

While Mead has a new generation of Trapper Keeper products available, many of the big box stores focus on other binder-folder systems.

I had one in the standard, royal blue color (like the one in the video above). The first folders I had (with their unique side-pocket design) were blue, green and red.

Interesting anecdote, the boys in Mrs. Worrall's third grade class in 1981 figured out that if you poked a hole in the corner of the clear-plastic outer coating, you could blow into it and "inflate" your Trapper Keeper into a bizarre-looking "bubble binder." You had to put tape over the hole to keep it inflated, though. (Too bad we didn't have cell phones back then.) 

Bridget's note: Jon thought he and his friends had invented this "bubble binder," but read the first comment on this blog.

Read yesterday's blog post: Is the NFL Siri-ous About Twitter Streaming?