User:Gaius Cornelius/Magic slate

'Iki-piirto' writing pad, a Finnish variety of Printator, known in German language as “Wunderblock”, as described by Sigmund Freud in his essay “A Note upon the ‘Mystic Writing-Pad’” from 1925. This writing aid has allegedly been used in Finnish schools circa 1950s when teaching mathematics. There is a multiplication table on the other side.

The magic slate, also known as the mystic writing pad is a writing surface upon which marks may be made with a stylus and then quickly and easily erased.

A magic slate comprises a dark waxy surface overlaid by a translucent light coloured sheet with a small air gap between the two materials. These two layers are usually covered by a protective transparent plastic layer. Why pressing onto the top surface with a stylus the translucent surface is pushed into contact with the waxy surface below; it sticks where contact is made and this eliminates the air gap so that a dark mark can be seen. The marks can be erased by restoring the air gap, this may be done by pulling the translucent layer away from the waxy surface or by sliding an erasing bar between the waxy and translucent surfaces.

See also

• Wax tablet

References

Notes

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

• Freud, Sigmund (1925). "A Note upon the "Mystic Writing Pad"" (pdf). General Psychological Theory, Chapter XIII. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
• Winner, Tara (2012). "Magic Slate, Stretch Armstrong, and Toys that Make You Go Hmmm..." Play Stuff. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
• Osterman, Nate (2017). "The Classified History of the Magic Slate". CompleteSet. Retrieved 13 May 2018.