18 School Supplies from the Past That Kids Today Wouldn’t Recognize
Step back in time with 18 forgotten school supplies that once shaped classrooms — and might just surprise today’s tech-savvy kids!
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
School supplies have evolved, but most of the old-time favorites of the past now look like artifacts from a bygone era to current students. From manual pencil sharpeners driven by cranks to sweet-smelling scented markers and cumbersome filmstrip projectors, these old-school classroom treasures show how education used to balance creativity, perseverance, and elbow grease. A trip down memory lane through these retro supplies is a nostalgic look at how children learned, played, and kept organized before the digital revolution.
1. Ditto Machine (Spirit Duplicator)
Image from Wikipedia
Teachers used to make worksheets with a ditto machine before photocopiers were invented, producing copies with clear purple ink and a sweet chemical smell. You had to turn a handle as the master copy inked up blank sheets. Children from the ’70s and ’80s still recall inhaling fresh copies like they were perfume treasures.
2. Chalkboard Compass
Noita Digital from Unsplash
This giant tool resembled a medieval sword but was only used to draw enormous circles on blackboards. Teachers would point the tip and swing the chalk end to draw flawless geometric shapes—no touchscreens or smartboards—just muscle and elegant chalk work.
3. Filmstrip Projector
Shannia Christanty from Unsplash
Teachers presented brief instructional films one frame at a time on this device, usually with a beep instructing the operator when to proceed. Filmstrips were clunky, slow, and jammed if mishandled. Viewing them was like storytime, not a technology lesson.
4. Pencil Box with Sliding Top
Image from Wikipedia
These wooden or metal boxes had sliding lids and compartments for holding pencils, erasers, and sometimes a tiny ruler. They clicked and clacked shut with satisfying finality. Unlike today’s soft cases, they could survive a fall from a desk — or a toss across a room.
5. Trapper Keeper
Image from Wikipedia
This was the ’80s king of school organization: a multicolored binder with Velcro flaps and theme designs ranging from rainbows to race cars. It organized folders and notebooks in one tidy spot, leaving children to feel like junior executives. Flipping open the Velcro during class was an instant attention-grabber.
6. Big Chief Tablet
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A standard for American grade school kids for decades, this writing tablet had broad lines and a Native American chief on the red cover. It was ideal for learning cursive, although the coarse paper erased into a mess. It’s largely a nostalgic relic of the mid-century classroom today.
7. Slide Rule
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Before calculators, this mechanical analog tool helped students and engineers perform complex calculations. It involved sliding scales and required a good bit of math savvy to use. Most kids today wouldn’t know which end to hold, let alone how to multiply with it.
8. Scented Markers (Mr. Sketch)
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Each of these markers had a distinct powerful, recognizable smell — grape, cherry, banana, and so on. Children sometimes spent more time sniffing than coloring. Some were sly and used them to “perfume” their assignments.
9. Overhead Projector
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This clunky machine cast transparent sheets (referred to as “transparencies”) onto a screen with mirrors and light. Teachers marked on them using markers, usually smudging as they wrote. The fan made a loud noise, and the bulb always burned out when it was most inconvenient.
10. Carbon Paper
Image from Wikipedia
This was used to make copies by placing a carbon sheet between two sheets of paper. A hard press with a pen or typewriter key would pull an impression down. It was messy, smudgy, and magical if you’d never done it before.
11. Crank Pencil Sharpener
Image from Wikipedia
Attached to a classroom wall, this sharpener forced children to insert their pencils and turn the handle by hand. It ground out with a satisfying sound and tended to yield perilously sharp tips. Breaking off the tip after sharpening was a definite heartbreak.
12. Penmanship Charts
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These posters were displayed above the chalkboard and demonstrated the proper method of creating every letter in cursive. They were decoration and reminder of discipline combined. Cursive wasn’t simply taught — it was graded.
13. Metal Lunchbox with Thermos
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A staple of the ’60s to the ’80s, these heavy-duty boxes had their iconic superheroes, cartoons, and pop icons. There was a corresponding thermos that had the slightest scent of soup or sour milk, depending on the gods’ whims. Losing one was a commotion — and, sometimes, a depression in the floor.
14. Mimeograph Paper
Image from Wikipedia
With the ditto machine, these thin, ink-soaked pages were the foundation of every handout. They needed to be treated with care or they’d smudge in an instant. When the pile was new, children fought over getting the top copy because it was the strongest-smelling one.
15. Ink Wells and Fountain Pens
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Older desks had inkwell holes, which students used to plunge fountain pens into to scribble. This inky approach was painstaking; otherwise, the ink would smudge and destroy your page — or your shirt. It imparted handwriting some elegance and gave your fingers a permanent purple color.
16. Card Catalog
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Before Google, libraries had rows of wooden drawers filled with index cards listing every book. You’d search by author, title, or subject, flipping through hundreds of cards. It was analog research at its finest — and slowest.
17. Book Covers Made from Paper Bags
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Children used brown supermarket bags to wrap around their books, sometimes decorating them with stickers and doodles. It kept the book safe and provided students with a small area for personal expression. The fold-and-tape ritual was a coming-of-age event in early September.
18. Rubber Cement
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This rubbery, gloopy glue was sold in glass jars with brush tops. It smelled strangely pleasant and stripped off fingers like skin, making it a toy rather than a tool to some children. It was officially used for sticking paper down, but it was also unofficially used for entertainment.