Just need a human.
- A pencil is a utensil that is used for writing or drawing and includes many types like graphite, charcoal, carbon, coloured, grease and watercolour pencils.
- Early pencils were a stylus made from a metal rod or lead.
- In the 1500s, a great marking substance was discovered, and at the time it was thought to be a type of lead, hence the name ‘lead pencil’. It was graphite, and most pencils have contained graphite ever since.
- Pencils typically have a cylindrical wooden casing which helps prevent the core (or lead as it is known), generally a mixture of graphite and clay, from breaking and prevents colour transferring to hands.
- The word ‘pencil’ comes from the Old French ‘pincel’ meaning small paintbrush.
- In March 1858, the first design was issued for a pencil with an eraser on the end.
- In most countries, graphite pencils have a typical coloured outer casing. In the United States, most are yellow, in Australia they are a red and black combination, and in Germany they are green, blue or black.
- The largest pencil was finished in September, 2007 and measured 23 meters (76 feet) in length and 8,200 kg (18,000 pounds) in weight.
- Pencils come in a variety of shapes and designs, including hexagonal, cylindrical or rectangular shapes, as well as mechanical pencils with a plastic casing and propelling leads, and flexible pencils.
- Pencils have a hardness (H) and blackness or softness (B) rating system. Adding a number in front of a H or behind a B indicates the rating of hardness or softness.
