11 March: The invention of paper

While most sources I can find say paper was invented sometime around the year 105, saying it's impossible to know the actual date, Today in Science (https://todayinsci.com/) is more specific about the date, putting the invention of paper on 11 March of that year. I can't find any further proof that this was the date but decided it's a good enough excuse to publish ten facts about paper.

1. The commonly quoted story about the invention of paper was that it was invented by a court eunuch called Cai Lun in 105, during the Han Dynasty. He was inspired by watching wasps build their nests.
2. However, archaeologists have found examples of paper dating back much earlier than that. The oldest fragment of paper ever found was part of a map dated to 179–141 BCE in Fangmatan in Gansu province. It's possible Cai Lun's role in the history of paper was to come up with a workable method of making it, and writing it down.
3. The oldest known full document written on paper dates to the 11th century. That paper was made from Hemp, linen and Cotton from the Iberian Peninsula. The document is called the Mozarab Missal of Silos.
4. What did people write on before paper? All kinds of things, including clay tablets, bones, strips of Bamboo sewn together (heavy and awkward), silk (expensive), animal skins or papyrus.
5. The word paper is derived from papyrus, which is produced from the pith of the papyrus plant and was used in ancient Egypt and Europe.
6. A couple's first wedding anniversary is the paper anniversary.
7. How you measure the size of paper varies according to whether you're in the USA or anywhere else in the world. The thickness of paper is measured in thousands of an inch in the US and in micrometres everywhere else. Paper may be between 0.07 and 0.18 millimetres (0.0028 and 0.0071 in) thick. Anything thicker than that is card. Likewise, paper is sometimes measured according to the weight per ream (500 sheets) of a standard size. Anything heavier than 160g is card. The surface area, if you're in the US, is expressed in terms of the length and width. Other places use something called the ISO 216 system which was first adopted in Germany in 1922 and is based on the metric system. A sheet of A0 paper has a surface area of one square metre. A1 is half that; A2 is half a sheet of A1, A3 is half a sheet of A2, and the most commonly used size, A4, is half a sheet of A3. And so on.
8. Ever wondered why old newspapers and books go Yellow? It's because wood pulp contains a substance called lignin, which reacts with light and Oxygen to produce other chemicals which are yellow in colour. It's possible to make paper with less lignin in it, which will stay White.
9. At time of writing the largest sheet of handmade paper was made by students in Ypacaraí, Paraguay in 2015. It measured 14.95 m x 10 m (49 ft 0.5 in x 32 ft 10 in).
10. Fold a piece of paper in half and it's twice as thick. Fold it again and it's four times as thick, then eight, then sixteen - the thickness grows exponentially with each fold. Practically, you're unlikely to be able to fold a normal piece of paper more than 7 or 8 times. People have managed to fold especially large or thin papers 12 or 13 times. Theoretically, if you fold a piece of paper 42 times it would reach the Moon. If you could do it 94 times you'd have a pile of paper as long as the known universe.

I write fiction, too! My characters include some British superheroes and a psychic detective. You never know, your new favourite could be here! You won't know unless you look...

See details of all my books

Browse other topics I've covered in this blog - HERE.

Like my Facebook page for news of Topical Ten posts, posts on my writing blog, and news of upcoming publications.