Pens have their own fascinating history! Ancient Egyptians carved reed, bamboo, or plant stems into fine points, dipped them in ink made from water, soot, vegetable extract, and boiled donkey skin, and then used the ink on clay tablets. Graphite pencils, meanwhile, weren't used in ancient Rome until the Middle Ages. If you look at the history of styluses, pens were technically invented before pencils. These early pencils were made with an alloy of lead mixed with tin and were nowhere near as comfortable as the pencils we use today. The word 'pencil' comes from the Latin penicillum, or 'little tail.' It was first used to describe a small, fine-tipped brush made from animal tails, which was used on stone tablets, parchment, and papyrus.īefore graphite pencils, many ancient civilizations would use tools known as plummets. This reduced the cost of new tests by $1.50 per test and took only 6.5 minutes to get results. Researchers at Penn State found that the electrodes made from graphite could be used to test for the virus. Surprisingly, graphite was a key part of COVID-19 testing in the United States. These were shaved to a point and used to make marks on parchment, papyrus, or wax-coated tablets. 3200 BC Source: īefore pencils were invented, our ancient ancestors used reed or bamboo styluses. This includes bamboo, plant stems, slate rock, graphite, and even repurposed bullet shells! This timeline shows the fascinating evolution of the pencil. Throughout their history, pencils have been made from a variety of materials. Henry Petroski, author of The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance History of Pencils Timeline Is it any wonder that we continue to have a warm place in our heart for the old-fashioned pencil? It went to school with us, and we learned to write with it. The wood-cased pencil is a friend from childhood. Let's go back in time to learn more about the sharp history of pencils! You can pick one up for drawing self-portraits, finishing crossword puzzles, and even stopping arguments in a golf game.Īll of these activities wouldn't be possible without the discovery of graphite in the late 1500s.

Pencils may seem old-school, but they shouldn't be underestimated.

Number 2 pencil day