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Monday 24 August 2015

Ink

The earliest reported date for the use of ink with reed pens was in ancient China in 2697 BC. The ink was composed of soot in lamp oil mixed with gelatin from donkey bones.

The ancient Egyptians used reed straws with ink made of soot or red ochre pigment mixed with beeswax or vegetable gum for writing on papyrus.

Almost 4,000 years ago, ancient Egyptian teachers used red ink to correct spelling mistakes, just like today.

Black ink, invented in China, was traditionally used in the Middle Ages for writing, for the simple reason that black was the darkest color and therefore provided the greatest contrast with white paper or parchment, making it the easiest color to read

Johannes Gutenberg developed a new type of ink in Europe for the printing press. Gutenberg’s dye was indelible, oil-based, and made from the soot of lamps (lamp-black) mixed with varnish and egg white.

Jane Austen was very particular about the ink she used. Her recipe included stale beer, and she said the mixture 'must stand in a chimney corner 14 days' and should be 'shaken two or three times a day.'


It's considered rude to write in red ink in Portugal.

The green ink used for American currency was actually invented at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The Archbishop of Cyprus signs official documents in purple ink.

As lemon juice is used to make invisible ink, a man once tried to rob a bank thinking he was invisible by putting lemon juice on his face.

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