On April 29, 1813, 211 years ago, J.F. Hummel received the first U.S patent for rubber.  While natural rubber—which comes from the rubber tree in the form of a sticky, milky white fluid called latex—had been used by ancient South American civilizations as far back as 1600 B.C., Hummel’s patent eventually paved the way for the mass use of rubber, thanks in large part to the the vulcanization process, discovered by Charles Goodyear in 1839, that made rubber useable in all kinds of ways.

Now, you may think I’m strange for making such a big a deal out of something as inconsequential as rubber.  But consider how many things you will use just today that are the result of the rubber revolution: The tires on your parents’ car that got you to school today; your shoes, which likely have rubber soles; your pencil eraser; the bouncy balls you play with at recess and in PE class; the hair-tie holding your ponytail; the rubber bands that keep your braces wire in place….  I could go on and on.  Rubber, it seems, is everywhere.

But the story of rubber got me thinking: History is fascinating, if only because it forces us to ask, why then?  My question this morning is: If rubber was being used as far back as 3,500 years ago, what changed in the world that made it possible to transform this milky white tree sap into millions of useful objects that have completely changed the way that we live in just the last 200 years?

Think about it…and have a wonderful day.