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Comment by jryce | Hacker News Reader

I'm trying to figure out how they implemented backspace on the paper.

On an actual typewriter, backspace just moves the head one character backwards. It doesn't inherently erase anything

But if you do want to actually erase text, there still is a way - many typewriters had multiple ink ribbons. In addition to black, you might have red for indicating deficits in accounting, or for erasing text you'd have a white ribbon.

So "erasing" on a typewriter is basically just typing the same text over the top again, this time in white so it doesn't show against the paper.

Didn't work on your carbon copies, though. In my high school typing class, accuracy was preternaturally stressed.

Yup, in the working world it was not unusual for secretarial professionals to be expected to turn out a perfect page every time or redo it until it was perfect.

When I was younger, I once worked with a professional secretary. She could touch-type accurately like a speed demon, and she could take shorthand. This was in the days before corporate email, so everything was done using interoffice memos, and she was worth her weight in gold.

I wish I learned shorthand (such as teeline) while I still had the time/energy to learn it. I'm sure technology like Siri will put an end to that.

Tipp-Ex is [was] your friend. First in a pot with a little brush on a stem, then later on paper strips -- you'd backspace over the typo, insert a sheet of Tipp-Ex paper between the ribbon and the page, and hit the same letter again. Which would mash a bunch of white paint over it, upon which you could then type the correct character.

Just like it works with vim in normal mode.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter#Correction_technolog...

The latest technology was a "glue" ribbon that erased the letter by making the ink stick to the glue and pulling it off the paper.

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