Rubber

:This article is about the material rubber, for other uses see Rubber (disambiguation)

History

In its native Central America and South America, rubber has been collected for a long time. The Mesoamerican civilizations used rubber mostly from Castilla elastica. The Ancient Mesoamericans had a ball game using rubber balls (see: Mesoamerican ballgame), and a few Pre-Columbian rubber balls have been found (always in sites that were flooded under fresh water), the earliest dating to about 1600 BC. According to Bernal Díaz del Castillo, the Spanish Conquistadores were so astounded by the vigorous bouncing of the rubber balls of the Aztecs that they wondered if the balls were enchanted by evil spirits. The Maya also made a type of temporary rubber shoe by dipping their feet into a latex mixture. Rubber was used in various other contexts, such as strips to hold stone and metal tools to wooden handles, and padding for the tool handles. While the ancient Mesoamericans did not have vulcanization, they developed organic methods of processing the rubber with similar results, mixing the raw latex with various saps and juices of other vines, particularly Ipomoea alba, a species of Morning glory.

Related Topics:
Central America - South America - Mesoamerica - Castilla elastica - Mesoamerican ballgame - Pre-Columbian - 1600 BC - Bernal Díaz del Castillo - Spanish - Conquistador - Aztec - Maya - Ipomoea alba - Morning glory

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In Brazil the natives understood the use of rubber to make water-resistant cloth. A story says that the first European to return to Portugal from Brazil with samples of such water-repellent rubberized cloth so shocked people that he was brought to court on the charge of witchcraft.

Related Topics:
Brazil - Portugal

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When samples of rubber first arrived in England, it was observed that a piece of the material was extremely good for rubbing out pencil marks on paper. This was the origin of the material's English name of 'rubber'. Blocks of the material are still used for this purpose, and known as 'rubbers' in British English, causing occasional amusement to speakers of American English, to whom a 'rubber' is a condom (usually made from latex). (American English uses 'eraser' to refer to the rubber block.)

Related Topics:
England - Pencil - British English - American English - Condom - Latex

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The para rubber tree initially grew in South America, where it was the main source of what limited amount of latex rubber was consumed during much of the 19th century. About 100 years ago, the Congo Free State in Africa was a significant source of natural rubber latex, but after repeated efforts (see Henry Wickham) it was successfully cultivated in Southeast Asia, where it is now widely grown.

Related Topics:
South America - 19th century - Congo Free State - Henry Wickham - Southeast Asia

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