Where did erasers come from?
In the mid-1700s, a French scientist and explorer found rubber and brought it back to Europe from South America, where it was used as an adhesive and to make bouncing balls. Previously, Europeans used bread to erase pencil markings before someone accidentally picked up a cube of rubber when reaching for his bread and discovered its ability as an eraser. Uncured rubber spoiled like food, and was not convenient to keep around. It wasn’t until 1839 when Charles Goodyear developed vulcanized rubber — named so after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire — that rubber erasers became long-lasting, easy to use and common.
