Kids in elementary school in the ’60s enjoyed getting copies/handouts from the teacher because they knew, these papers held the scent that they craved so much. As soon as the teacher handed each student a copy hot off the Ditto machine, the students had to fight back the irresistible urge to put the paper to their noses. When they could no longer fight it, it was heavenly…Aaahhhhh!

Before I researched this story, I thought it was the Mimeograph Machine (photo below) copies that I was thinking about, but in actuality, it was the Ditto Machine.

The Ditto Machine copies are the ones that had that unmistakable purple color and that unforgettable solvent smell. It’s so wonder that all of us baby boomers survived our childhoods.

A side note: The 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High with Sean Penn, featured a teacher passing out duplicated exam papers and all the students immediately placed the paper to their noses and inhaled. Ha, ha, ha! I saw a blog post from someone in 2008 referencing this particular scene, asking why the students did this. Oh, if only they knew.