Holly 🚀⚜️

I want to ask the designers of the pencils with erasures that do nothing but smudge everything into a big gray blob of nothing on the paper if they had ever tested the erasures and if so, what was that meeting like?

Did everyone show up and the boss was like “show me an example of your erasure at work” and everyone does and it’s all just smudgy blobs and that was it? They called it a day? Good job everyone!

I feel like I need an answer to this mystery. #engineering

Jan 23, 2023 at 11:21pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadmalteJan 23, 2023
@absolutspacegrl they were all like:
Show threadLawrence MillerJan 24, 2023
@absolutspacegrl wait serious question: aren't the smudgy ones just the regular ones that got old? Or do some of them come out of the factory already smudgy?
Show threadHolly 🚀⚜️Jan 24, 2023
@ldpm I don’t know! You might be right but I have old ones that still work fine, so hmmm…
Show threadJon RuttenbergJan 24, 2023

@absolutspacegrl

maybe the pencil should have a memory hole at the end.

Show threadScott marsroverdriver MaxwellJan 24, 2023
@absolutspacegrl I think they had a meeting where they showed the boss that the pencils still sold but now cost 0.1 cents less to produce, so profits were up. And they got promoted for it.
Show threadBradford BennJan 24, 2023
@absolutspacegrl I also wonder if it depends on the paper type or weight for effectiveness. As an example, way back in the long hand drafting days of college some erasers worked great on vellum but sucked on bond.
I also do wonder about the moisture content of the eraser and if that plays a part.
Or it could be part of a conspiracy brought forth by the paper industry to make pencil users consume more paper!
Show threadHolly 🚀⚜️Jan 24, 2023
@BradfordBenn I love all of these suggestions!
Show threadHelgeJan 24, 2023

A clean line striking through the writing to be erased, is an often better solution:

  • It shows it's ok to make mistakes
  • It allows you to backreference thoughts you decided were wrong
  • It works with pens