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A pocket protector promoting the Linux operating system, also synonymous with geek stereotypes.

A pocket protector is a sheath designed to hold writing instruments and other small implements, such as slide rules, while preventing them from damaging the wearer's shirt pocket (e.g., by tearing or staining by a leaky pen). The pocket protector is designed to fit neatly inside the breast pocket of a man's shirt, and may accommodate pens, pencils, screwdrivers, small slide rules, and various other small items. A flap overlapping the pocket exterior helps to secure the pocket protector in place.

The pocket protector was invented during World War II by Hurley Smith while he was working in Buffalo, New York. He was awarded US patent 2417786 for the device on March 18, 1947; the patent was filed on June 3, 1943.^[1] Originally fashioned from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), pocket protectors were first marketed toward corporations as branded promotional fare. However, a more general market for the product soon arose, comprising students, engineers (prominently mechanical), and white-collar workers in sundry fields.

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