A class of fifth-graders from Green Acres Elementary in Lebanon, Ore., asked us to find out how pencil lead is made. That quest took us all the way back to the dawn of the universe and then all the ...

Even if you're a pencil aficionado, you might find out something new from this video on the history of pencil lead from NPR. Like, for example, that Henry David Thoreau helped invent the numbering ...

Though simple in appearance, the pencil is one of the most enduring and versatile writing tools in history. It has accompanied artists, students, architects, and writers for centuries, quietly shaping ...

From Pencils You Should Know: A History of the Ultimate Writing Utensil in 75 Anecdotes by Caroline Weaver (published by Chronicle Books 2020, all images courtesy Chronicle Books) I hadn’t thought of ...

The Pencil Museum by Jackie Mock, installed in Faber Park on Staten Island (photo by Rob Ventura, courtesy Jackie Mock and the New York City Parks Department) Suspended in a vitrine in Staten Island’s ...

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