If you had new shoes, you got to go up for show-and-tell and have the following song sung to you: run along and play! So in my case the song went, "Nee has new shoes, pretty new red shoes. When I got back to my table, this dumb kid Carl who lived two doors down from me and tormented me constantly said, "Ha ha, you got your mouth taped." I told him to shut up through the tape, and that made him cry. I can still smell the smell of masking tape - which, I suppose, is comparable to the taste of paste. One day I was invited to stand in line and receive this special humiliation. Every day she would make people who had been talking too much stand in line at her desk and get a piece of masking tape placed over their mouths before naptime - which wasn't really a nap, but she would darken the room and we would all have to fold our arms and put our heads down on the table. Beard, was very scary in her fifties flowered dress belted tightly at the waist, big beehive hairdo, and irridescent blue cat-eye glasses with rhinestones in the corners. Then there was the day I got my mouth taped. I would pick through the box for crayons that still had pieces of wrapper on them.
Elmer paste full#
We sat six to a table with a box of those big fat crayons in the center, and I remember being deeply disturbed because the ones at my table were full of tooth marks because this kid named Andy liked to nibble on them. (Like school paste? Then you might like our article Elementary School Textbooks, click here.How about the thread for kids who wondered why other kids ate paste? Or the thread for weird grade-school experiences not involving paste? Me, I sat across the table from a crayon eater.
![elmer paste elmer paste](https://nwamotherlode.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/elmers-paste.jpg)
In the 1990s, school paste was replaced with a less-sticky adhesive called liquid glue. Most school paste was made by a company called Borden, parent company of Elmer’s glue and other fine sticky products.
![elmer paste elmer paste](https://5.imimg.com/data5/PJ/VQ/MY-38035880/elmer-crunchy-chocomaltine-filling-paste.png)
OK, But What Companies Made School Paste? The school janitor was in charge of making the stuff from a recipe that usually called for sugar and flour.
![elmer paste elmer paste](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/0118/products/elmers-art-paste-washable-non-toxic-1_2044x2044.jpg)
One thing’s for sure, it didn’t taste good! Who Made School Paste? It tasted like whatever was in your mouth last - plus, of course, the concoction of white, pasty chemicals that made up school paste. If you were caught eating the stuff, you received a stern warning, and though you usually didn’t die, you did get sent to the school nurse for a stomach pump. The lesson learned here is to never leave your supplies unattended! Kids would eat school paste if they got their hands on some. I’ve read that kids used to eat it, but I never have and I don’t recommend it for you! It’s not edible because of the chemicals in school paste (such as glycerine) so be sure to brush your teeth after school! I don’t remember it being particularly thick, but after you added water to the container of glue, it seemed like there were so many chunks in there! Do Kids Eat It? The school paste was a translucent and off-white color.
![elmer paste elmer paste](https://i2.wp.com/www.happinessishomemade.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Colored-Elmers-School-Glue.jpg)
And let’s not forget that this stuff was really goopy! What Did School Paste Look Like? The school paste had an acrylic smell to it that still sticks with me today! I distinctly remember the teacher would put one or two drops of food coloring in the container before adding water and mixing it all together. One use was to cover maps or graphs in science classrooms – long before there were white boards and technology, teachers would put a thin layer of school paste on the map or graph and then students would use markers to write a caption.Īnother purpose was as an adhesive for paper items that needed to be glued together such as stamps, stickers, construction paper – you name it! It could also be used in art class for collage projects What Did School Paste Smell Like? Originally, school pastes were used for a variety of purposes. (Although you really shouldn’t eat it, anyway.) What Was School Paste Used For? The last ingredient in many of these pastes is something sweet or sugar like honey – this tricks your body into thinking it’s getting something good to eat so you don’t feel as guilty about eating the school paste! Chalk was the main ingredient since it absorbs moisture from your fingers so you can write on dry paper without having wet smears all over the page. Most school pastes contained chalk, flour and other ingredients that were mixed together to form a paste. It’s gummy, it smells like chemicals and children love to eat it! Let’s take a quick look back at this sticky memory from our childhoods… What Was School Paste Made Out Of? This thick, goopy substance was used in schools across America in the 1980s to help students with their schoolwork.