QUIRKY SCIENCE

Rubber comes from trees. South American tribes used it long before the world got to know about it. When Columbus witnessed Haitian natives playing ball he found himself mesmerized by the bouncing goo. The South American tribes also made ‘waterproof’ shoes. When Western ships and their sailors brought these back home, the rubber melted on people’s feet. And so did their profits. A stationer accidentally discovered the stuff made a pencil stripe disappear, by rubbing it, and suggested to call it ‘India Rubber’. It took decades for someone to discover how to prevent rubber from melting in heat or... Číst dále