Directions: Look around your classroom and you will see many objects that have surprising histories! Learn all about these school tools online. Print this page to write your answers, or use a separate sheet of paper.

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Name: ___________________________________________

1. ___________________________ were invented in the late 1800s, after the development of thin steel wire and machines that could stretch, bend, and twist it.

Find the answer at: www.alteich.com/tidbits/t110899.htm

2. In the late 1500s, an eyeglasses maker invented the first ________________. It consisted of one tube inside another, with a lens at each end.

Find the answer at: www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1500.shtml

3. A _______________ gets its name from the small rotating ball made out of brass, steel, or tungsten carbide that makes it work.

Find the answer at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question683.htm

4. _________________, invented in 1903, are made out of pigment and paraffin wax melted together in a mold, then quickly cooled.

Find the answer at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question563.htm

5. In the 1700s, the first _____________ was made out of natural rubber. Today, they are usually made out of a synthetic rubber compound or vinyl.

Find the answer at: www.pencils.com

6. A __________________ is one of the oldest classroom inventions. Originally painted wood, they were later created from slate, a type of stone.

Find the answer at: www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom

7. The invention of _____________ in 1980 finally put to good use a special low-tack, reusable
adhesive that had been created years earlier, in 1968.

Find the answer at: http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/frysilver.html

8. In 1897, the first simple _______________ was invented. It was later followed by fancier models that used sandpaper, a wheel cutter, or a file to do the job.

Find the answer at: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllove.htm

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