eraser
Japanese Name:
消しゴム
Romaji Name:
keshigomu
Description
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An eraser is a small tool made of rubber or other materials used to remove pencil marks from paper. It helps correct mistakes in writing or drawing by rubbing the unwanted marks away.
History
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Before modern erasers were invented, people used various materials to erase pencil or ink marks, such as:
Wax tablets – reused by scraping the writing off
Rough stones or knives – used to scrape off ink or pencil
Bread crumbs – in Europe, soft bread was commonly used to remove pencil marks in the 1700s!
In 1770, Edward Nairne, an English engineer, accidentally discovered that natural rubber could remove pencil marks.
He started selling small cubes of rubber as "rubbers" for this purpose.
This marked the first commercial use of rubber as an erasing tool.
The word "rubber" comes from the verb to rub, since the material was used to rub out marks.
In American English, the term "eraser" became more common to avoid confusion, since "rubber" can also mean a condom in modern slang.
In 1839, Charles Goodyear developed the process of vulcanization, which made rubber more durable and flexible.
This innovation led to the widespread use of rubber erasers in schools and offices.