Buzz
President Barack Obama frequently used legal pads to write many of his presidential addresses, including the one delivered in Oslo, Norway, in December 2009. You can spot his handwritten notes in the margins. This photograph is from the Barack Obama Presidential Library.Key Highlights
- Legal pads are easily recognized by their bright yellow hue, although the exact reason for this choice remains uncertain. Some believe it helps reduce glare, while others think it may stimulate creativity.
- The legal pad was created by Thomas Holley in 1888 when he first bound together scrap paper, a process that eventually led to the establishment of the American Pad and Paper Company (AMPAD).
- To be considered a "legal pad," the only essential feature is the presence of a red margin, 1.25 inches (3.18 centimeters) from the left side. This was requested by a judge around 1900 for ease of note-taking.
Comic Jerry Seinfeld, former national security adviser John Bolton, and the late author Pat Conroy are just a few of the millions who are devoted to the iconic office supply: the legal pad. It's simple, affordable, professional, and instantly recognizable.
One of the key attractions of legal pads is the unwritten rule that they are reserved for adults. Some describe a sense of accomplishment when they reach the stage in life where they feel "mature" enough to use them. After all, using a legal pad signifies serious business.
What makes a legal pad stand out the most? Its yellow color. But why is it yellow? To answer that, we need to first look into its history.
The legal pad was created by Thomas Holley, a paper mill worker from Massachusetts, around 1888. Holley had the idea of gathering the discarded paper scraps from the floor of the mill and binding them together to form pads.
Holley was apparently frustrated with the constant task of picking up paper scraps off the floor, and before long, his invention became a success. Although the original paper in his pads was white, their popularity allowed Holley to leave his mill job and establish the American Pad and Paper Company (AMPAD).
There are many theories as to why legal pads are yellow, but no one knows for certain. One explanation is that the pads were originally made from pieced-together scraps, which gave them a cheap, low-quality appearance. To enhance their look, Holley supposedly dyed them a classy, consistent yellow.
While this theory seems plausible, it’s unlikely to be the truth. Dyeing paper at the time would have been an expensive process, and it probably wouldn't have been worth the cost in terms of profits.
Some later accounts, probably after Holley's era, suggest that yellow paper was chosen because it's less glaring on the eyes compared to white. The theory is that yellow was simply more comfortable to use for reading and writing.
Another idea is that yellow paper was preferred because it didn’t show wear as easily as white paper. Others thought Holley’s decision to switch from white to yellow was based on the belief that yellow encourages mental stimulation, particularly in areas of memory and creativity.
Although we may never know the true reason why legal pads are yellow, we do know the origin of the legal pad’s margin. Around 1900, a local judge asked Holley to add a vertical line to the left side of the page for notes. These margins, or down lines, are always red and are positioned 1.25 inches (3.1 cm) from the edge of the page.
In addition to the yellow paper, blue lines, and the gummed, tear-off top, the defining feature of a legal pad is the red margin. Simply put, if a pad has yellow, blue, pink, or purple paper but lacks the red margin, it doesn't meet the criteria of a legal pad.
