The science fair was the highlight for Junk Drawer this week, so it only makes sense that the find this time would be something from the Junk Drawer display. Several junk drawer odds and ends were presented as mystery items, and people were invited to guess what they were.
This item I figured out when I first found it in an office supply cabinet. It was past the pens, sticky note pads, and other items people normally need in an office. It is an envelope sealer. You use it simply by filling the cylinder with water, and rolling the foam roller over the gluey part on the envelope to moisten it. If you’re sealing a whole pile of envelopes, this will save your tongue from getting too sticky. Now, some envelopes are kind of tasty, but too much of that might not be good. Hence the need for an envelope sealing device. It seems that anyone doing large mailings these days has an automatic sealer, or they just buy those self sealing envelopes that you fold over, or pull a tab to uncover the sealant. A check at the local office supply mega-store has confirmed that envelope sealers are still available. However, they have a plain spongey end, so this old wheely kind might be an old design. The sealer itself is kind of an old design, so it might eventually become obsolete. At least, in one particular office, it is not currently being used.
I’m not sure how many people at the science fair were able to identify the envelope sealer, but maybe now people will know what it is if they come across one. Not that they’ll want to use it, since some people still don’t mind a nice, minty envelope.
