National Rubber Eraser Day
Appreciate the invention of the rubber eraser on #NationaRubberEraserDay
15 April is National Rubber Eraser Day, the perfect opportunity to annually celebrate, recognise and appreciate the invention of erasers.
Tablets of rubber or wax were used to erase lead or charcoal marks from paper before the invention of rubber erasers. Crustless bread was used as an eraser in between 1868 and 1912 in Japan. “Bread erasers were used in place of rubber erasers, and so they would give them to us with no restriction on amount. So we thought nothing of taking these and eating a firm part to at least slightly satisfy our hunger,” said a Tokyo student of the era.
• Joseph Priestly found a vegetable gum that removed pencil marks on 15 April 1770. He called this substance rubber.
• Edward Narine developed the first marketed rubber eraser in 1770.
• Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanisation in 1839. This was a method to cure rubber and make it a durable material which made rubber erasers standard.
• Hyman Lipman patented the pencil with an eraser at the end in 1858.
Thanks to these men and their inventions many years ago, we are able to erase the mistakes we make while holding a pencil.
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