Paper and Its Uses

Paper is one of the most important products ever invented by man. Wide spread use of written language would not have been possible without some cheap and practical material to write on. The invention of paper meant that more people could be educated because more books could be printed and distributed. Together with the printing press, paper provided an extremely important way to communicate knowledge.

How much paper do you use every year? Probably you can’t answer that question quickly. In 1900 the world’s use of paper was about one kilogram for each person in a year. Now some countries use as much as 50 kilograms of paper for each person in a year. The volume countries like the United States, England and Sweden certainly use more paper than other countries.

Paper, like many other things that we use today, was first made in China. In Egypt and the West, paper was not very commonly used before the year 1400. The Egyptians wrote on papyrus; Europeans used parchment for many hundreds of years. Parchment was very strong: it was made from the skin of certain young animals. We have learnt some of the most important facts of European history from records that were kept on parchment.

The Chinese first made paper about 2,000years ago. China still has pieces of paper which were made as long ago as that. But Chinese paper was not made from the wood of trees. It was made from the hairlike parts of certain plants.

Paper was not made in southern Europe until about the year 1100. Scandinavia-which now makes a great deal of the world’s paper—did not begin to make it until 1500. It was a German named Schaeffer who fund out that one could make the best paper from trees. After that , the forest countries of Canada ,Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the United States became the most important in paper –making . Today in Finland, which makes the best paper in the world. The paper industry is the biggest in the land . New paper –making machines are very big, and they make paper very fast. The biggest machines can make a piece of paper 30 meters long and six meters wide in one minute.

When we think of paper, we think of newspapers , books, letters, envelopes, and writing paper. But there are many other uses. Only half of the paper that is made is used for books and newspapers, etc.

Paper is very good for keeping you warm. Houses are often insulated with paper. You have perhaps seen homeless men asleep on a large number of newspapers. They are insulating themselves from the cold. In Finland, where in winter it is sometimes 40 degree below zero. The farmers wear paper boots in the snow. Nothing could be warmer.

Each year, more and more things are made of paper. We have had paper cups plates and dishes for a long time. now we hear that chairs, tables, and even beds can be made of paper. With paper boots and shoes, you can wear paper hats, paper dresses, and paper raincoats. When you have used them once, you throw them away and buy new ones.

The latest in paper seems to be paper houses. These are not small houses for children to play in , but real, big houses for people to live in. you can buy a house with three chief rooms for about $500. you can put it up yourself in few hours, and you can use it for about five years.

People have made paper boats, but they have not yet made paper aeroplanes or cars. Just wait –they probably will.

Countries like the United States, England and Sweden use more paper than other countries.