If your child chews on pencils, you’d better know where it was made. The “lead” in lead pencils is not really lead, or ...

The pencil “lead” is actually a mixture of graphite and clay. More clay in the mixture makes the lead harder. A harder lead has a higher number. Pencils are numbered from 1-3 but most people use a ...

"Pencil" is derived from the Latin word "penis" meaning "tail", because Roman writing brushes were made from tufts of fur from an animal's tail. "Lead pencils" achieve the same effect without ...