Fun Facts About Erasers

Fun Facts Daily · Aug 10, 2026 · 15m

Before the widespread availability of commercial rubber erasers, artists, writers, and engineers commonly used pieces of rolled, crustless white bread to lift graphite marks from paper. The discovery of rubber’s erasing capabilities in 1770 by Joseph Priestley and Edward Nairne transformed writing tools, leading to the creation of the first commercial rubber erasers. Later advancements included Charles Goodyear’s development of vulcanization in 1839, a chemical process using sulfur and intense heat to stabilize rubber so it would not melt or become brittle under temperature changes. Over…