The Writing Tool We All Use

Before the pencil was invented, people used ink and feathers to write. This was messy and difficult because you couldn't erase mistakes easily. The story of the pencil began in England in the 1560s, when a large deposit of graphite was discovered under a tree after a storm. The locals found that this black material left a dark mark and was useful for marking sheep.

At first, people wrapped the graphite in string or sheepskin to hold it. Later, the Italians came up with the idea of putting the graphite inside a hollow stick of wood. This was the first modern pencil. However, pure graphite is soft and breaks easily. In 1795, a French inventor named Nicolas-Jacques Conté discovered that mixing graphite with clay and firing it in a kiln made it stronger. By changing the amount of clay, he could also make the pencil write lighter or darker.

Today, pencils are painted yellow because in the 1890s, the best graphite came from China. In China, yellow is the color of royalty and respect. American pencil makers painted their pencils yellow to show they contained high-quality Chinese graphite.

The Writing Tool We All Use

Before the pencil was invented, people used ink and feathers to write. This was messy and difficult because you couldn't erase mistakes easily. The story of the pencil began in England in the 1560s, when a large deposit of graphite was discovered under a tree after a storm. The locals found that this black material left a dark mark and was useful for marking sheep.

At first, people wrapped the graphite in string or sheepskin to hold it. Later, the Italians came up with the idea of putting the graphite inside a hollow stick of wood. This was the first modern pencil. However, pure graphite is soft and breaks easily. In 1795, a French inventor named Nicolas-Jacques Conté discovered that mixing graphite with clay and firing it in a kiln made it stronger. By changing the amount of clay, he could also make the pencil write lighter or darker.

Today, pencils are painted yellow because in the 1890s, the best graphite came from China. In China, yellow is the color of royalty and respect. American pencil makers painted their pencils yellow to show they contained high-quality Chinese graphite.