Here’s a riddle: What magical product can record your thoughts, present your opinion, and help you pass some of life’s tests? But if you make a mistake, it can also correct you instantly?
Of course, I’m talking about the # 2 pencil. Not # 1 or # 3….only # 2, which many educators recommend.
Did you ever wonder where the modern pencil came from? I didn’t either, but I looked it up anyway.
Way back in 1564, somebody discovered a huge deposit of graphite in Borrowdale, England.Somebody else discovered how to wrap that substance in wood…and that led to the modern pencil.
Many people say the writing substance in pencils is lead, but that’s wrong. Graphite just looks sort of like lead.
So, those coaches who told me to “get the lead out” were very wrong. I would tell them so today, but I no longer play sports…and my coaches no longer coach.
Graphite was a substance that could be mixed with clay in various ratios to create “hardness.” The # 2 model pencil created a distinct line without smudging.
So, it became the ideal choice for the standardized tests so many of us took in school.
Over the years, I’ve taken lots of tests with # 2 pencils. I’ve written lots of wrong answers. But thanks to the eraser on the pencil’s other end, I’ve corrected some of those errors.
Over 400 years on earth, and the old # 2 is still as sharp as it ever. I wish I could say that about myself.