How else would you define a basic cord used to suspend something or everything? Actually, the term is as old as shipping, or perhaps older. Nautically, a lanyard is a short rope or wire rove through deadeyes to hold and tauten standing rigging.
Today, people from almost all walks of life are using lanyards today, and oh! So creatively:
1. Promotions: This, probably, is the widest use today after shipping! Be it trade fairs or office, you can see people walking around with multicolor strings around their necks, nametags or ids dangling from them.
These are the lowest cost and most attractive way of promoting your business in a large gathering. No one misses the vibrant colors of lanyards and you can personalize the lanyards with your company name and message. Many corporations offer them free to visitors at trade fairs and some even use them in mailers.
After all, all of us can use a nametag! Schools use lanyards to make out different grades and these are specifically helpful when organizing large events.
2. Camping: Losing a knife, compass or any other camping gear is a nightmare only campers identify with. The solution again is a lanyard. Secure everything. People even use it to hang washed vessels from tree branches to air dry them, and spiffy a wine bottle in the river!
3. Boating: This most likely is the only line of action that cant do without lanyards. From paddles to map cases to water bottles, anything needs to be secured with lanyards for a profitable journey!
4. At home: Have you ever wanted to pull the home down because you couldnt locate the nail cutter or the can opener or the bottle openerthe list goes on! And, only due to the fact that you forgot lanyards! Hook up your kitchen and hang everything where you can see it. Just like keys, gadgets have a way of vanishing when you need them the most!
5. Even the garage! Thats true. You need lanyards here too for the same reasons as you do in the kitchen. In this Do it yourself age you need to be equipped and your equipment should be handy.
6. Just for fun: Creativity makes the world go in dimensions other than round! Lanyards have become an avenue for expression and you can now pick up beaded lanyards, leather lanyards, plastic lanyards and much more in a multitude of knots, braids and shapes!
7. And this: You cant really walk around today without a lanyard holding your camera, your goggles, your spectacles, whistles (if you are a coach!), cell phones, I-pods, PDAs, pagers, in fact almost everything thats become a necessity today.
A easy piece of string has turn out to be a significant part of life but like everything else useful, you need to be careful with lanyards. A short lanyard is useless but a longer than required lanyard is an accident waiting to happen. On a boat, it could entangle the gear and become risky, on the road it could wind around the wheels!
