12th July Paper Bag Day

Millions of people use paper bags every day. Readily recyclable, paper bags have been around for many years.  American inventor, Francis Wolle, received credit for his patent of the first paper bag machine in 1852. Margaret E. Knight became known as “the mother of the grocery bag” after she designed the square, flat bottomed bag and the machine that would fold and paste them in 1870.

Margaret E. Knight invented many things and had 27 patents to her name. Her obituary called her a 'woman Edison',  high praise maybe but not necessary as if you read about her she certainly was a pioneer in a field commonly thought of at the time as a male domain. There is a wonderful picture book biography called Marvellous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully, which certainly creates some wonderful discussion among my students. Read it for growth mindset, Girls and STEM, to highlight themes of resilience, perseverance and creativity.

If you plan a craft activity or just want to talk about uses for paper bags, read Baghead by Jarrett J Krosoczka.