What’s so great about a rubber eraser? They can “wash” away mistakes and clean the slate for new possibilities. They can change your SAT answer from A to C. And they provide the peace of mind in knowing that you can have a “do over” if needed. Erasers have the power to remove uncertainty on the canvas of your creative thinking! This is a powerful role because fear of mistakes can kill the flow of creative thinking.

A rubber eraser gives us a second chance to make things right and empowers us to barrel forward with a unique idea. There’s an added level of confidence when we know that we can make adjustments along the way or start over completely.

The history of the eraser dates back to the 1700’s when Joseph Priestly found that a vegetable gum could remove pencil marks. Then marketing strategies stepped in, and Edward Nairne promoted the vegetable gum as a rubber eraser. Charles Goodyear made erasers even more common with his discovery of vulcanization, a method that would make rubber a more durable material. Then, in 1858, Hyman Lipman patented the famous pencil and eraser duo that we know and love today.

As a human being, I’ve come to rely on its forgiving grace. As a creative person, it helps me push through the rough spots to turn a “good” idea into a “great” idea. So get those ideas on paper with confidence that a misspelled word or an overextending mark can be erased without a trace.