PENCILS: In honor of the students returning to their desks for the 2021-22 school year, we have found a list of facts, courtesy of https://everyfactever.com/50-facts-about-pencils/:

— The word ‘pencil’ is thought to have both a Latin and French origin. ‘Pencillus’ is the Latin version and ‘pincel’ is the French version.

— A single standard size pencil can draw a line 35 miles long. That’s the equivalent of writing about 45,000 words, or half a novel!

— When people say ‘lead pencils’ this is inaccurate as manufacturers no longer use actual lead. It’s just carbon these days. Also, contrary to popular belief, it was never possible to get lead poisoning from a pencil.

— Graphite pencils, or pencils that are square-shaped, were made in a town called Keswick, England, in the 1860s. They still manufactured pencils there until 2007.

— The French stumbled upon ‘caoutchouc’, a natural rubber, and decided to use it as the eraser that we use today.

— It has been noted that Thomas Edison used specially made pencils. These pencils were not different in shape but were different in terms of their thickness, and he preferred a 3-inch long pencil instead of the normal 7.5-inch size.

— Astronauts have used pencils for many years in space as the zero gravity has no effect on the pencil’s ability to write words out on paper.

— March 30 is Pencil Day. On March 30, 1858, an eraser was attached to the end of the pencil for the first time.

— Pencils are traditionally yellow as this was perceived as better quality and exceptional craftsmanship many years ago.

— Author Roald Dahl only used 6 yellow pencils to write his books.