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 ...
Late in the 19th century, a Swiss immigrant and itinerant artist named Ferdinand Brader journeyed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, found his way to Stark County in the 1880s, stayed until the 1890s, and ...
On March 30, 1858, inventor Hymen L. Lipman patented the first pencil with a built-in eraser—then sold it for $100,000. Believe it or not, this is not the first time in history that a little stick of ...
Despite the name, pencils have never been made with lead. They’re made with graphite, a form of carbon. Just where does graphite come from, and why did we decided to write with it? NPR took a look ...
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 ...
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 ...
The classroom writing implement has roots in exploding stars, the French Revolution, the British crown jewels and Walden Pond. Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil A class of ...