#16 - Rubber Erasers | April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020 - 10 Facts About Rubber Erasers

Today is National Rubber Eraser Day. 

Here are 10 smudge-free facts about rubber erasers that you didn’t know, that you didn’t need to know:

Erasers are made with Volcanic ashThe pink ones in particularThe pumice, or volcanic ash, is used to make the eraser a little rougherThis extra abrasiveness gives them more traction and helps the erase easier Pencil Manufacturers don’t refer to them as erasersThey call them plugsAnd the metal bands that hold them to the pencil are called ferrulesThey Pencil/Eraser combo came to market in 1858 There are electric erasersThey don’t erase with electricityThey are long sticks of different gages of erasersThey are electronically pushed upThey are supposed to be better for artistsLess tears in paperEasier to use Erasers aren’t always made of rubbersome are made from synthetic rubber or natural rubberA lot are made from vinylMore durableMore flexibleLess flakes and crumblingUsed to be made from LatexSynthetic Petroleum based The first rubber erasers would rotEventually a curing process was created which allowed them to last longerNow its usually done with high heat and high pressure Original Erasers were made out of bread. Until the 1770sde-crusted, moistened and balled up.cheap and plentiful,Rotted and Molded  The guy who discovered oxygen helped invent erasers. What a guy! Joseph PriestleyHe didn’t invent them, but he did note that rubber was excellent at wiping up lead from paper.  Rubber actually got its name from erasers.Initially referred to as "India gum"The first know use for the substance was erasing which required rubbing. Thus the name, Rubber.   Erasers are partly a chemical process. Pencils put graphite on paper and it mingles with the fiber particles. The polymers in rubber erasers are sticker than paper so the fiber moves to the eraser.  Pencils with erasers on top are mostly an American phenomenon. Most European pencils are sold without eraser.