The first recorded record for a paper hole puncher was published in 1885, when a man named Benjamin Smith helped create a spring-loaded hole puncher that had a receptacle to collect those little clips. Smith dubbed it the “conductor’s punch”. A later paper punch was refined in 1893 by Charles Brooks, and that one was referred to as a ticket punch, due to its early role in punching train tickets as trains became increasingly popular and common between 1850 and 1900. Concerns have risen about the lifespan of the hole punch as most paper documents are now online, making the use of it irrelevant.