I was somewhat surprised at the number of people that do not truly know what the word “inanimate” means; I had a friend text me a fruit, which I thought may at one time have been alive so I decide not to use. After texting about 4 friends, I ended up with the words “paper” and “desk” for this exercise.
First word: PAPER
The word paper could mean a LOT of things, and paper itself is literally everywhere. I have a stack of printer paper sitting in my printer right now and an extra stack in my drawer. That stack is wrapped in a paper package. There is a paper card next to my computer with a reminder that I have an appointment in a week, and another piece of paper with some concert tickets printed on it. I have tons of sticky notes, index cards, and envelopes in my drawer. All of my written work is obviously done on paper, as are any notes I write or lists to remind myself of things. My notebook has a legal pad in it, also made of paper. All the books I read have pages and pages of paper. I have to write a paper soon for this very class. Even the picture on my screen for Microsoft Word resembles an 8X11 sheet of paper. The newspaper on the bus today had an article about money, which is also made of paper. All over campus people hand out paper flyers; some of them are on the walls along with paper advertisements. In my house I have paper plates, paper cups, paper towels, napkins, Kleenex, and toilet paper. I find that most things that are made of paper are very cheap (unless it is some sort of prized painting or piece of art), due mostly to the fact that paper is easily destructible. On a lighter note, paper can be used for fun, like the art of origami.
Second word: DESK
I am sitting at a desk right this very moment as I am writing this in my apartment. A desk is a pretty standard item in anyone’s room or house; both of my roommates have a desk in their rooms as well. Today on campus I sat in three different desks, one for my first class, one while I was studying in the Reliant Reading Center, and another for my second class. Desks come in all different shapes, sizes, and materials. Some are made of wood while others are made of metal, and some are a combination. Some desks are just desks, while others have parts and accessories to allow for more uses. Some have drawers and/or shelves for storage. Some also have pull-out trays for a keyboard or extra work space. A desk can be a place to work, eat, study, read, play a game, or just sit for awhile and think. I feel like it is mostly identified as a place to get work done, as it is the primary workstation used at work and in schools. The desk is so widely understood in this way that the personal computer was designed with the desk in mind. A computer sits right on your desk and its screen even shows all of your digital items sitting on a “desktop”. Laptops and devices like the iPad allow this desktop to be portable. The word “desk” can also be used to denote work that is not physically challenging, hence the phrase “desk job”.
Here are some ways we could combine these two items:
- A desk made out of paper or a desk that looks like paper
- A desk that stores paper
- A desk that dispenses paper
- A desk that shreds paper
- A picture or drawing of a desk on a piece of paper
- A desk with paper built into it
- A desk covered with papers
- A desk made out of papier-mâché or carton-pierre (papier-mâché decorated like wood, stone, or metal)
- PaperDesk application for the iPad
- Stack of paper to hold up one end of a desk
- A paper desk-organizer
- A paper (essay) or book about desks
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| Image of the PaperDesk iPad app |
Some of these combinations do already exist as products, namely the desk that stores paper and the PaperDesk app for the iPad. Others just came to mind, although I would be intrigued to know if the papier-mâché desk would work as a viable product. Papier-mâché is a low-cost form of production and when done properly can produce very sturdy items. In addition, the art of carton-pierre would allow the product to look exactly like your idea of a traditional desk.
