Pencil case is the best tool that we use daily to keep our stationery and collectibles and of course to show off among classmates.
In my home country and during 1980s, most of the pencil case used during primary is made of metal. Normally you will get cartoon characters such as Transformer, Doraemon as surface design. When you open the lid, you will see the multiplication formulas table.
Let's look at one of the example which I manage to get from Internet:
The pencil box was build up from few component where you can "play" around ejecting these compartment to keep your things.
A: using magnetic to keep the pencil case lid close
B: a transparent space to keep your time table (behind the time table is the multiplication table)
C: 2 layers platform which allow us to place more stationery
D: smaller component with a spring plate where you press to eject the cover
E: same concept as D and normally is a space to keep eraser/rubber
F: build in sharpener with eject function.
I guess this design is much influenced by Transformer cartoon during those years. All these mechanism build to attract student interest which now we no longer see it in the market.
When I was using this pencil case, I always found it very troublesome. I cant fit in all my pencils and my eraser is far too big to keep in underneath in the compartment. I kept my ruler together with my time table pocket. Now with jumbo size pencil design, if one is still using this pencil case to keep that pencil, he/she has to remove the top layer to allow more spacing. Luckily now this design no longer available.
