Today we talk about the pursuit of perfection . Or at least the things we do to try and make things seem perfect . If you paint something with a brush , it often leaves brush marks . When you paint with a roller , you might still have lines left behind by the roller . Some consider this a flaw (something bad you that you don't want ) in the paint job . So , people came up with a process to cover things up with a perfect layer of paint called “airbrush .” The Airbrush Museum says in 1876 , F.E . Stanley created a device that could spray watercolor and ink . Three years later Abner Peeler came up with a paint distributor that was later sold as an “airbrush .” However , this may have not been the first attempt at airbrushing . Some archeologists claim that early cavepeople , Neanderthals , used the process to airbrush some of their paintings by blowing paints through hollow bones . For example , let's say some vandals painted offensive words on the side of your house . If you do not want to see the words ever again , you airbrush over the words to cover them completely . Here is another example : If you apply beauty products , or makeup , on your face , you can airbrush just about any mark on your skin . In some publications , workers often use software called Photoshop to change an image . They could use it to airbrush all the flaws in an image or even remove pieces of the image completely . The term photoshop has since taken on the same meaning as airbrush . There is another way we use the term airbrush . If someone is accused of airbrushing history , they are being accused of changing something bad in the past as if it did not happen . Now , let's hear these two friends use the term “airbrush .” Hey let's meet for coffee tomorrow ! How about Hal's that new coffee shop down the street ? I hear the coffee is really good . I don't like the owner . What's wrong with Hal ? Don't you remember ? He ran for office two years ago . And during the campaign , some really bad stuff came out about him . I don't remember that . That's because he airbrushed it all from history . It's like it all never happened . Well , people cover up bad things from their past all the time . Besides … he makes really good coffee . I will find another coffee shop !