UK Factoid of the Day

This curious looking item is called a Treasury Tag (or India Tag).

It is an office supply that is used to fasten pieces of paper together, or to a folder. It consists of two small metal bars connected by a piece of string. Treasury Tags are threaded through holes made by a hole-punch, like so:

I'm not exactly sure what the American equivalent of a treasury tag would be. Maybe a keyring?

(The first time I was asked to bind a stack of papers in my UK office, I was handed a hole-punch and a treasury tag. I stared at both of them helplessly for about 10 minutes before I finally asked someone how this was possibly supposed to work. It seemed obvious after they showed me. In my defense, I had thought of that option before asking for help, but had dismissed the idea because it didn't keep the papers very tightly bound. I still don't like them for this reason.)