The Marginal Advantage: Safeguarding Notes from Rodents
Notebook margins, often perceived as a mere design choice, harbor a more practical purpose that harkens back to a time when rodents, particularly rats, posed a ubiquitous threat to the preservation of written work. In an era when rats frequently infiltrated households, paper was not immune to their voracious appetites.
To counter this rodent menace, wider margins were introduced to writing paper. These margins acted as a first line of defense, shielding the inner contents from the incisors of rats. With these protective margins in place, the rats, in their gnawing fervor, would focus their attention on the paper’s edges, leaving the central text unscathed. Thus, notebook margins, an ostensibly aesthetic choice, emerged as a practical safeguard against the ravages of pests, ensuring the preservation of important documents and notes in the face of rodent adversaries.
Whenever you grasp your trusty notebook, take a moment to reflect on the unassuming margins, guardians of your work against the ever-looming specter of rodent mischief.
