  We simultaneously measure the static friction and the real area of contact
between two solid bodies. Under static conditions both quantities increase
logarithmically in time, a phenomenon coined aging. Indeed, frictional strength
is traditionally considered equivalent to the real area of contact. Here we
show that this equivalence breaks down when a static shear load is applied
during aging. The addition of such a shear load accelerates frictional aging
while the aging rate of the real area of contact is unaffected. Moreover, a
negative static shear - pulling instead of pushing - slows frictional aging,
but similarly does not affect the aging of contacts. The origin of this shear
effect on aging is geometrical. When shear load is increased, minute relative
tilts between the two blocks prematurely erase interfacial memory prior to
sliding, negating the effect of aging. Modifying the loading point of the
interface eliminates these tilts and as a result frictional aging rate becomes
insensitive to shear. We also identify a secondary memory-erasure effect that
remains even when all tilts are eliminated and show that this effect can be
leveraged to accelerate aging by cycling between two static shear loads.
