Almanac: The pencil and eraser 02:05. And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: March 30th, 1858, 156 years ago today . . . the day a Philadelphia inventor made his mark.

Written by Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos Jr. Illustrated by German Blanco Ages 3–6 “When Pencil Met Eraser,” by Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos Jr. This hilariously illustrated book ...

The pencil eraser was patented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Hymen Lipman, a Jewish immigrant from Kingston, Jamiaca, on this day in history, March 30, 1858.

And his interests are wildly idiosyncratic: He’s got more to say about erasers than pencils, can discuss fastening devices at extraordinary length, and doesn’t seem all that interested in pens.