A stack of paper

Paper Facts for Kids

This web page contains paper facts for kids and is an excellent resource for anyone of any age looking to learn about paper. Our goal is to provide you with accurate, up to date facts about paper and paper products. In addition to facts about paper, we provide additional resources to help you with your research on the paper and its history.

The paper facts below will help you learn about paper, what paper is, when paper was invented, how paper is made, who country produces the most paper and other paper related facts. We hope these paper facts are interesting and help you learn more about this revolutionary writing material.

If any of the below paper facts are inaccurate, please contact us and let us know.


23 Paper Facts for Kids

  1. Paper is a thin, flexible material that is cut into sheets and made by pressing wood fibers together.
  2. The most popular uses for paper are writing, drawing, printing, packaging, cleaning and decorating.
  3. Paper is created in a paper machine using a process known as papermaking.
  4. Paper is made in a factory known as a paper mill.
  5. Paper and the papermaking process were invented by Chinese inventor Cai Lun in 105 AD.
  6. There is a story that claims Cai Lun was inspired to create paper by watching paper wasps building their nest.
  7. Prior to the invention of paper, papyrus was used as a writing surface.
  8. Papyrus was made from the Cyperus papyrus plant.
  9. A watermark is a visible pattern or image in paper and appears when light is directly passed through it.
  10. The process of watermarking paper first appeared in Fabriano, Italy in 1281.
  11. Paper can be divided into seven different categories, and they are printing paper, wrapping paper, writing paper, blotting paper, drawing paper, handmade paper and specialty paper.
  12. It’s estimated that at least 30% of the world’s annual use of commercially harvested wood is for paper products.
  13. A single pine tree can produce an estimated 80,500 sheets of paper.
  14. Every one ton of paper that is recycled saves about 17 trees.
  15. China is the leader in paper production. In 2011, China accounted for 24.9% of the paper and paperboard production worldwide, which comes out to 99.3 million tons of paper and paperboard.
  16. International Paper is the leading paper production company. In 2015, International Paper produced 23.3 million tons of paper and paperboard products.
  17. It’s estimated that the United States produces over 71 million tons of paper waste each year.
  18. Based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paper products made up 13.1% of the total landfill material in 2017, in the United States.
  19. According to the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), the United State recovery rate (recycling) for paper was 68.1% in 2018.
  20. Origami is the art of folding paper into different shapes.
  21. Joseph Gayetty is credited with inventing the first commercially successful modern day toilet paper.
  22. The world record for the largest single sheet of paper was set on August 7th, 2015. It was created by 250 students from Colegio Salesiano Don Bosco de Ypacarai and measured approximately 49 feet by 32 feet.
  23. The world record for the most folds for a single sheet of paper was set by Britney Gallivan. Gallivan was able to fold a single sheet of paper 12 times.

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