A Pencil is a tool used for writing or drawing. It has a thin round dowel shape with a sharpened end to expose the core of graphite or charcoal pigmented clay. Mechanical pencils have a plastic shell that holds a stick of grahite. This stick can be pushed out as it is used and is replaceable, thus mechanical pencils are more economic and cost efficient. The word "pencil" derives from the Latin word pencilcillus, meaning tail or little brush.

Pencil leads contain no lead, but instead is made of graphite and clay. The graphite to clay ratio determines the hardness of the lead and its color. The more clay used the harder and lighter it turns out.

History: In 1564, a large amount of graphite was discovered near Borrowdale, England; it was used there for marking sheep. Graphite was also used to line cannonball molds and was very expensive. This was the first and only deposit of pure graphite ever found and because of its location, England had the advantage when it came to pencil production.

Originally, graphite sticks were supported by sheep skin; the Italians were the first to encase graphite in a wooden shell.

The first mass-produced pencils were made in 1662, in Nuremberg, Germany. These pencils were unpainted to show off the high quality of the wood.

In 1729, Benjamin Franklin advertised the very first American made pencil in his paper The Pennsylvania Gazette.

On March 30, 1858, a man named Hymen Lipman patented his idea of attaching the first eraser to a pencil. He later sold his patent for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer. When Faber started to use erasers on their pencils, Reckendorfer sued them for infringement, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer and declared the patent invalid.

1. Commonly painted yellow
2. Pencil "lead" contains no elemental lead and is non toxic
3. Most have an eraser at one end
4. Colored pencils have a core of pigmented clay
5. Largest pencil is over 65 feet long