It’s Pencil Day!

You are using one almost every day, whether for school, work, or write down your ideas. Yes, it’s the pencil, and don’t get it confused with your ballpoint pen. But its history is actually older than you, your parents, and even your grandparents.

This old writing tool can be traced back to today in 1858 when the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Hyman Lipman the first patent for a modern pencil with an eraser attached. However, it’s believed that the first modern pencil got made in 16th century England, gotten made soon after a large deposit of graphite got discovered there. These look similar to our graphite pencils today, though, at that time, they were no more than a graphite chunk wrapped in string or sheepskin. In the mid-16th century, the graphite began gotten put into hollow wooden sticks. Eventually, these got replaced with the wooden casings we find on pencils today.

The pencil came a long way to being in our hands. So why not celebrate them with Pencil Day, which is today? Sharpen up your pencils, and start using them! There are so many things that deserve to get written down!