National Rubber Eraser Day (United States)

Stop! Put that eraser away. Don’t erase today from your monthly calendar. Make no mistake. National Rubber Eraser Day, an April 15 holiday, celebrates the invention of erasers. We all make mistakes. This day is designated to recognize and appreciate the value of that little plug (as manufacturers call them), that sits atop our pencils. When we make a mistake, they are the big “cover-up”, make that eraser, of our booboo or faux pax. Just imagine how messy our documents would be without them!

Why not just call it “Eraser Day”? There are two reasons. The first erasers were made of rubber. Today, they are made of rubber or vinyl.  Secondly, in Great Britain, they are formally called “rubbers”.

In the world of erasers, two men are prominent. Joseph Priestley discovered the eraser in 1770, using pieces of rubber imported from Brazil. Then in 1858, Hyman Lipman of Philadelphia, Pa., patented the pencil with an eraser at the end.  

There are a number of types of erasers, including:

·        One that comes already attached to your pencil by a metal band.

·        An eraser you can add on top of your pencil.

·        A block, commonly called Pink Pearl or Pink Pet.

·        In pencil form. Instead of lead, there is an eraser inside. As your use it, you peel away the outside.

National Laundry Day (United States)

 

In the mid-1800s a man called Emmett Lee Dickinson established April 15^th as National Laundry Day. Dickinson had invented the laundry basket on wheels and wherever he went he urged others to join his crusade for national cleanliness.

Celebrated with the idea of showing appreciation for this household chore that some people seem to despise, National Laundry Day encourages individuals and families to remember how amazing it is to have fresh, clean laundry – and perhaps even thank the person who did it!