It won’t be coming this way again until 2061. Halley’s Comet, that is. Most of us remember the last one in 1986. The comet comes by the earth, visible to the naked eye, every 75 or 76 years or so.
In 1986, I wasn’t paying much attention, truth be told. I don’t even remember it being a thing in the news, if I was actually watching the news back then. But in my defense, they say that year was the worst ever for the viewing experience. Earth and the comet were on opposite sides of the sun that year, for one thing. And we had more pollution than all the 75-year intervals before. So there it was.
There is an off chance I’ll see the next one, but I probably won’t give a holy heck at that point in my life. Or maybe. Time will tell.
But, throughout history, Halley’s Comet has been a big dang deal to a whole lot of people all over the world. I mention this because, on this date, March 30, 240 BC, the first recorded perihelion (closest to the sun) passage of Halley’s Comet occurred.
And it has been swinging by this way ever since. It has been seen as a sign and an omen for a wide array of people all over the world, including popes, kings, and conquerers.
I just like to think of it out there, soaring through space, keeping its rhythm and time, like clockwork. On its way back here. And what will it see?
I will tell you one thing. Another event happened on this date that was much bigger than Halley’s Comet’s first appearance.
In 1858, an inventor by the name of Hymen L. Lipman of Philadelphia decided to attach an eraser to the end of a pencil. The ramifications of this invention are still being felt today.
Hymen L. Lipman was born March 20, 1817, in Kingston, Jamaica. His parents were from England. Why they were in Jamaica, I do not know. But apparently, they didn’t want to stay there and immigrated to the United States around 1829. They went straight to Philadelphia, and that is where Hymen resided for the remainder of his life.
He was the leading stationer in Philadelphia in his heyday. A stationer is someone who sells paper, pens, and other writing materials. Not a gas station guy. Not a TV station guy. And, he also started the first envelope company in the United States. Ever.
As it turns out, the pencil-eraser combo worked out for him. In 1862, Lipman sold his lead-pencil and eraser patent for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer. Sometime later, Reckendorfer decided to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber for infringement of that patent. But, uh-oh. In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer. They said the patent was invalid because his invention was actually a combination of “two already known things with no new use.”
But they were wrong, that version of the Supreme Court. Of course, it had a new use. This great invention told humans that it was okay to make a mistake. A way to fix things is just at the other end of the debacle.
It gave us a new license on life. Now we could wing it when we tried to solve math problems. Or we could write bad lyrics and then make them go away. Heck, we could decide we were going to bake a pineapple cake and then change our minds, erasing all the ingredients from the grocery list. We could try to draw stick people and not give a damn.
Incredible, that pencil-eraser had new uses never seen before. Magical, wonderful, intelligent, and amazing uses. And since that day in 1858, it continues to come up with them.
But, here is the thing. Halley’s comet has been by twice since then. Once in 1910, and then again in 1986. Two swipes by since we’ve had this invention. I’m wondering if the pencil will still be around in 2061 when the comet comes this way again.
Pencils have given us so much, especially the ones with the cute little pink nub on top. Let’s all put a pencil in our hands today and see what we can do. Mistakes are encouraged. They can be erased.
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“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
― Albert Einstein
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“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
― Albert Einstein
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“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
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Editor’s Note: Einstein used a pencil with a pink eraser on top.
Make it like it was never there. It could come back again.
