# Do you know what an "ink blotter" is? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217 "2007-07-26T13:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/101 "2007-07-30T10:30:57Z")
All this talk of ink blotters, ink wells, nibs, etc. has reminded me of “pen wipers”. I hadn’t thought of those in years. In my grammar school the girls in their sewing class (girls took sewing and cooking; boys took shop) would begin learning how to sew by making pen wipers for their brothers and other boys in the class. They were made by stacking-up about 5 or 6 round pieces of absorbant cloth 3 inches in diameter and sewing them together in the middle. The resultant pen wiper could then be used when you were finished writing with the pen to wipe the ink off the pen nib before it was withdrawn from the pen and inserted in backwards to protect the point. Writing was an adventure in those days! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/102 "2007-07-30T10:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Shelley Berman suggested the nostalgia of the words “skate key.” [/QUOTE] I think citing Shelley Berman is itself a sign of nostalgia… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/103 "2007-07-30T11:04:48Z")
I never really thought about it. When I read the OP, I was able to figure out basically what it was just because the name is pretty self-explanatory. It blots ink. (although for some reason, my first thought was that it was a piece of forensic equipment. something about inkblot tests and police scanners. I don’t know. my mind works in weird ways.) It looks like the sort of thing I would have seen in books and maybe at my grandmother’s house or something and never really paid much attention to the name. I’ve seen them before, though. But if I were standing in a store with someone who said, “find me an ink blotter” my response would be, “What’s an ink blotter?” ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/104 "2007-07-30T11:18:09Z")
[QUOTE=casdave] This makes me feel old. When I was at school, we were not allowed to use those new fangled ballpoint pens, we had to use fountain pens. Felt tips ?? Gel pens?? [/QUOTE] Nah, we had to use fountain pens at primary school, too. I’m 22. I use a fountain pen, but it doesn’t dispense enough ink onto the page to require blotting. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/105 "2007-07-30T11:23:45Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Pounce is still the term for the thingie used to apply the outline through a stencil for quilting. The powder is just chalk though, not bones. > **[CLOSED | Erica's Craft & Sewing Center](https://www.ericas.com/)** > > After 44 years, Erica's Craft & Sewing Center closed permanently on June 2, 2018. [/QUOTE] Maybe. But cuttlefish bone has a chalky texture and, when ground, would be hard to identify as anything that came out of a gastropod. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/106 "2007-07-30T11:28:14Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Well it was before my time but I know who Charlie Chaplin was,what a washboard ,Penny Farthing,model Tee and the "Charlston "was. The fact is our kids are lazy nowdays and unless knowledge is dispensed to them on a plate they cant be bothered to learn . And anxious parents try to excuse them by citing the fast pace of modern innovation. [/QUOTE] just because somebody doesn’t know about every single thing from past eras doesn’t mean they have no sense of it. I mean, it’s the very rare kid my age\* who has never heard of the Beatles, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O… we know that two-dollar bills used to be around, we really do know what records are even though our parents always like to pretend we don’t. We know about washboards and Model-Ts and the Charleston are too, as well as disco, Watergate, ataris, M_A_S\*H, and so on. Just because I’ve never seen a mimeograph machine and have no idea what doesn’t mean I’m woefully ignorant of the world around me and what came before me. Not any more than my parents are ignorant for not knowing how to milk cows or spin wool or my grandparents are ignorant for not knowing medieval court dances. And I know it wasn’t directed at me specifically, but the same goes for my peers. Give us a little credit. eta: \*my age= 16 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/107 "2007-07-30T13:07:04Z")
Ink pens taught how to deal with frustration. Writing a paper only to have an ink blob come out and ruin the page. Even a blotter would not be enough to pick it up and smearing was common. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/108 "2007-07-30T13:16:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] This one has me stumped…I have heard about them in books, but not sure how it’s used or the purpose. [/QUOTE] Is a hair saver for keeping the hair that comes off in your brush/comb, to use the hair for a hairpiece later? ---
**Author:** ![gS49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@gS49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gS49)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/109 "2007-07-31T13:04:13Z")
[QUOTE=denquixote] My grandmother always called automobiles “machines” and the telephone was referred to as the “ameche” because Don Ameche played Edison in a movie. [/QUOTE] um… it’s Alexander Graham Bell ---
**Author:** ![gS49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@gS49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gS49)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/110 "2007-07-31T13:16:33Z")
[QUOTE=Ronald C. Semone] I occasionally slip up and refer to the refrigerator as the “icebox”. (I was 10 when we got our first refrigerator.) [/QUOTE] also “frigidaire”–this brand name for a very early refrigerator became another common term for the device (like xerox). ---
**Author:** ![DellieM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@DellieM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DellieM)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/111 "2007-07-31T13:33:20Z")
I’m 37 (but in denial - therefore denial is not just a river in Egypt!) and when in grade 5 I learnt cursive writing with an inkwell and an ink pen with real ink, and blotting paper. Also in grade 5 we students would sniff the paper handouts because they reeked of metholated spirits. My first job at age 17 had me gasping in wonder at the fax machine, and although I stand at 5 feet two inches in stupid shoes, during the 80’s with my hair, I was officially 5 feet 6 inches. I was also raised by my Nanna, who had an original Westinghouse washing machine, complete with wringer. I grew up with the saying “I haven’t laughed so much since Mum got her tits caught in the wringer”. I don’t use that saying now because people don’t really grasp the concept of feeding sheets and stuff through a wringer to get excess water out. I also try not to use the phrases “You’ve been done with the rough end of a pineapple” meaning extremely lucky - or “I couldn’t shit in the ocean without splashing the sides” (unlucky) or “I couldn’t shit up a down-pipe” (also unlucky). Because people look at me strangely. Or it could be my hair. I never did get over the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/112 "2007-07-31T13:40:48Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Is a hair saver for keeping the hair that comes off in your brush/comb, to use the hair for a hairpiece later? [/QUOTE] Do you mean a ‘hairtrap’? That’s something you put in the plug hole to stop all the hair going down the sink and blocking the drains. ---
**Author:** ![gS49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@gS49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gS49)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/113 "2007-07-31T13:41:47Z")
Don’t forget the slide rule. If you remember them. > **[Slide rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule)** > > The slide rule (also known colloquially in the United States as a slipstick) is a mechanical calculator (one of the simplest analog computers) hand-operated by sliding two rulers to perform multiplication and division primarily, and possibly exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is not typically designed for addition or subtraction, which is usually performed using other methods, like using an abacus. Maximum accuracy for standard linear slide rules is about three decimal Slide rul... Or you can get one for your computer: [http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/](http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/) How about adding machines? > **[Adding machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adding_machine)** > > An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations. > In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous office equipment until they were phased out in favor of calculators in the 1970s and by personal computers beginning in about 1985. The older adding machines were rarely seen in American office settings by the year 2000. > Blaise Pascal and Wilhelm Schickard were... A lot of the things mentioned before are still around: letraset [http://www.letraset.com/design/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=76&cat=Lettering](http://www.letraset.com/design/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=76&cat=Lettering) adhesive wax [http://www.misterart.com/g1648/Jiffy-Adhesive-Wax-Stick.htm](http://www.misterart.com/g1648/Jiffy-Adhesive-Wax-Stick.htm) ruling tape [http://weigang.de/Shop-Details.shopdetails+M5c78999c62f.0.html?&L=1](http://weigang.de/Shop-Details.shopdetails+M5c78999c62f.0.html?&L=1) mimeographs!! :eek: [http://bargain-barn.net/](http://bargain-barn.net/) – click on the menu there’s one item with USB connection gum eraser [http://www.artstuff.net/gum\_erasers.htm](http://www.artstuff.net/gum_erasers.htm) (different from the pink pearl: [http://www.pearlpaint.com/shop~ocID~2500~parentID~2499~categoryID~2498.htm](http://www.pearlpaint.com/shop~ocID~2500~parentID~2499~categoryID~2498.htm) ) pounce [http://www.artstuff.net/cleaning\_pads\_and\_pounce.htm](http://www.artstuff.net/cleaning_pads_and_pounce.htm) carbon paper – but I hope it comes with instructions > **[keysan.com domain name is for sale. Inquire now.](https://www.keysan.com/)** > > keysan.com is available for purchase. Get in touch to discuss the possibilities! Mucilage [http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group\_id/1807/Ross-Mucilage.htm](http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/1807/Ross-Mucilage.htm) Leroy lettering [http://www.eclipse.net/~essco/draft/leroy.htm](http://www.eclipse.net/~essco/draft/leroy.htm) china marker [http://www.business-supply.com/dept\_select.jsp?filtered=yes&sku=SAN02058,SAN02059,SAN02060,SAN02062,SAN02072,SAN02083,SAN02086,SAN02089&deptId=112021](http://www.business-supply.com/dept_select.jsp?filtered=yes&sku=SAN02058,SAN02059,SAN02060,SAN02062,SAN02072,SAN02083,SAN02086,SAN02089&deptId=112021) planimeter [http://www.lasico.com/page4.html](http://www.lasico.com/page4.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/114 "2007-07-31T15:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I am 34 and I have heard of ink blotters but I didn’t really know what one was until this thread. [/QUOTE] Ditto. Except that I turn 44 next week. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217/115 "2007-07-31T19:35:17Z")
I’m 35. I know what ink blotters are, how they work, and what they look like, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person. I’m certain I’ve never used one. **Lust4Life** , I’m curious: On how large a sample are you basing your generalizations about today’s lazy kids? How many such kids do you personally know? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-an-ink-blotter-is/413217.md?page=5)