How Does an Etch A Sketch Sketch?

An Etch A Sketch. CREDIT: Creative Commons | Ignacio Icke View full size image

In the 1950's Frenchman Arthur Granjean tinkered away in his basement on what he called L'Ecran Magique, the Magic Screen. Voila! He showed the world its first Etch A Sketch at the 1959 Toy Exhibition in Nuremburg, Germany.

Behind the glass screen framed by the familiar red plastic lies a mixture of fine aluminum powder and itsy bitsy plastic beads. The two knobs control a pointy stylus — hidden beneath the glass — that scratches the aluminum off the screen, leaving behind a black trail. Turning the Etch A Sketch upside down and giving it a good shake smooths the powder evenly across the screen, with the help of the plastic beads. Ooh la la!

To save a drawing, the Ohio Art toy manufacturer's technical support team simply says: Don't shake the Etch A Sketch. But Etch A Sketch experts can permanently save true pieces of art by emptying the aluminum out of a frame.

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