Correction fluid
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Merge-from Image:Whiteout.JPG Correction fluid is an opaque, white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be written over. It is typically packaged in small bottles and the lid comes with an attached brush or a triangular piece of foam that dips into the bottle. The brush or pen is used to apply the fluid onto the paper. As the fluid is highly volatile (i.e. it dries quickly), the unused contents of the bottle often dry out and become too thick to use. Manufacturers of correction fluid will often sell corresponding thinners to dilute the bottle.
Before the invention of word processors, correction fluid greatly facillitated the production of typewritten documents.
One of the first forms of correction fluid was invented in 1951 by the secretary Bette Nesmith Graham (who was also the mother of Michael Nesmith, an original member of The Monkees).
The inhaled fumes of correction fluids typically have an addictive quality. Correction fluid is also a very common inhalant in adolescents due in part to the fact that it is relatively inexpensive.
Contents |
Correction pens
More recently, correction fluid has become available in pen form; the pen is spring loaded and is dabbed onto the paper. The pen form has the advantage that it applies the fluid more evenly and thinly, and does not dry out in the bottle so quickly.
Famous brands
Correction fluid is commonly referred to by the leading brand names. These brands include:
Generally, "Liquid Paper" and "Wite-Out" are used in the United States and Australia, while "Tipp-Ex" is used in Europe. In fact in the United Kingdom Tipp-Ex is used so widely as a colloquialism for correction fluid that it is probably the more prevalent term.
Both "original" and "solvent free" varieties of Tipp-Ex are available, along with coloured varieties for use on coloured paper. The "solvent free" variety has the disadvantage of some inks soaking through it and taking a long time to dry.
Thinner
Over time unused correction fluid can become thicker due to slow exposure with the air, and sometimes even solidifies. Some manufacturers also sell bottles of "thinner", a few drops of which will help to return the correction fluid to its original liquid state.
Originally bottles of thinner contained toluene, which was banned when it was shown to be carcinogenic. Later bottles contained 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, a skin irritant, and then the slightly safer trichloroethylene. Chemicals currently sold as correction fluid thinners include bromopropane.