Greetings All

While reading through several posts in various sub-forums here on Typewriter Talk, I have noticed that quite a few of us find eraser crumbs in the machines we're cleaning. Sometimes just a few, and sometimes a ½" thick layer of them. The question is, are we really dealing with what we think we are?

I seem to remember reading an on-line article a couple of years ago about little creatures that live in typewriters and the like. If memory serves me correctly, they're called Fornits from Fornus. Apparently these little creatures can get into the inner workings of a typewriter and make things go wrong if they are not appeased.

The way to appease these little critters is to drop cookies crumbs and little bits of sandwich crusts into the keyboard for them to eat. From what I understand, no one has done adequate research into how these Fornits releave themselves in your typewriter, but I have a theory that their droppings look remarkably like eraser crumbs and can be different colors depending on what they've been eating.

So here's something to ponder the next time you're cleaning out an old typewriter, are you cleaning out eraser crumbs or Fornit droppings. All the very best,

Sky