What Makes Erasers Erase?
Erasers were originally called rubbers, not because they were made from the product of a rubber tree, but because they rubbed away marks made on paper. Today, the standard eraser and pencil combination is widely available, though this combination was not prevalent until the 19th century.
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Types
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When erasers were first invented, the primary material used was rubber. However, rubber did not keep its form very well during warm months, and would rot if kept too long. Today, most erasers are made from either a combination of synthetic rubber and pumice or from vinyl.
Erasing
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Erasers attract graphite markings as they are stickier than the surface of the paper. Graphite markings on paper are more attracted to the eraser than they are to the paper, as the eraser is stickier. Thus, when the eraser is rubbed over the markings, the eraser picks up the graphite from the page. The small graphite-covered pieces break away from the eraser so that the eraser may continue to be used and remove other marks.
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Fun Facts
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Though standard in the United States, many countries do not sell pencils with erasers attached. Though pencils in the United States generally have erasers at the end of them, most other countries sell pencils and erasers separately. In the eraser-making industry, erasers are typically referred to as "graphite-grabbers" as they grab the pencil markings from the paper. Before the invention of erasers, writers often used moist bread to remove markings from their paper, before discovering that caoutchouc, a substance from the rubber tree, could be used for this purpose.
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References
- Photo Credit Large Colorful Erasers image by Lori Pagel from Fotolia.com pencil eraser image by Richard Seeney from Fotolia.com pencil erasers image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
