Pencil Points Quiz | Thematic Objects

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and probably other cultures used writing implements of some sort but it was the Romans that gave us the modern word for pencil. They used a fine brush called a pencillus but do you know what this Latin word means?

Answer: Little tail

It is thought that the Romans may also be responsible for our use of the word "lead" for the active part of a pencil. They (and the Greeks and Egyptians) used a small disc of lead known as a plumbum as a guide line on papyrus to keep the letters even.

This is thought to have developed into a thin rod of lead which was certainly in use by the 14th century as an artist's tool - producing a fine, grey outline. This rod was described by Conrad Gesner in 1565 as being held within a wooden casing - sounds very much like our modern pencil!

2. The first recorded use of graphite as a writing material was in the 16th century when a large deposit of very pure graphite, which could be mined, was found in England. Where was this deposit uncovered?

Answer: Borrowdale, Cumbria

In around 1560, a large deposit of graphite was uncovered after an oak tree fell during a storm. Local shepherds noticed that it was useful for marking the fleeces of their sheep but it was also very messy to handle. It was named "plumbago" or "that which acts like lead" and was the purest seam of graphite ever found. It was solid and able to be cut into rods which could be encased in wood. The graphite was only mined for 6 weeks each year and it was escorted to London by armed guards. Export was forbidden and The English Guild of Pencilmakers had the monopoly on its sale and on the production and sale of the wooden cases.

In 1779 Scheele discovered that plumbago was, in fact, a form of carbon and it was renamed "graphite" after the Greek for "writing".

3. In the 18th century people began to try to use less pure forms of graphite and it was combined with other substances. The graphite was powdered and then mixed with a binder before being formed into a usable stick. What was the binder that became the basis for modern pencils?

Answer: Clay

In 1765 in Bavaria, Faber first experimented with mixing clay with powdered graphite to form a "pencil lead". He had variable success but did produce a usable pencil.

In 1795 France was at war and supplies of graphite from both England and Germany were unobtainable. Nicholas Jacques Conte, an officer in Napoleon's army, was commissioned to find a substitute. He succeeded in producing a mix of graphite, clay and wax which could be fired in a kiln to produce a high quality writing stick. In addition, this stick could be made in earth colours as well as black. He set up a factory in 1793 and descendants of his original formulations are still in use today.

4. In 1824 a small factory making pencils was set up and run (together with a member of their family) by a person who became a famous author. Can you name this author?

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden) ran a small pencil manufacturing business "John Thoreau and Son" with his father. The pencils were said to be very much in demand and were said to be the hardest and blackest available in the US. It started in 1824 and in 1847, they were awarded a diploma of excellence by the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. I like to think of Henry David Thoreau sitting under a tree writing Walden using a pencil made by his dad.

5. Until about 1870, nearly all pencils were square in shape and made by hand. However, around that time, Joseph Dixon invented a machine that could mass-produce them. How many pencils could he produce per minute?

Answer: 132

In 1872, the company was making 86,000 pencils a day and by 1892 they made and sold 30 million a year! The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the world's largest dealer in and consumer of graphite and had worldwide recognition for its superior products. The process also allowed for round pencils to be produced.

Joseph Dixon made the first pencils in his mother's oven. In 1827 he established the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company in Salem, Massachusetts and manufactured graphite crucibles, lubricants, stove polish and pencils. This developed into the company which is still around today.

6. A plain pencil lead would make a mess of your hands and so, from a very early stage, it was encased in wood to make the lead easier to handle. Which is the most popular wood used today for this purpose?

Answer: Cedar

Cedar is the most commonly used wood and much of it comes from California. The wood is treated with wax and a stain to help eliminate breaks and to lubricate it during the process. It is said that an average cedar tree will yield 172,000 pencils.

In Russia, white pine is preferred and in China they apparently like basswood. However, world-wide, cedar is still the number one choice and it is said that over 14 billion pencils are produced worldwide each year.

7. Today, pencils are very common and we use them without a second thought, throwing them away if they break. If we kept one and used it right down to the very last nub of graphite to draw a continuous line, how long do you think that line would be?

Answer: 35 miles

It is said that the average modern pencil can be used to draw a line 35 miles long or to write 45,000 words! Maybe that is why many authors have chosen to write with a pencil, including Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck.

8. Pencils are graded according to the hardness or softness of the lead and the commonest system for this uses a combination of numbers and letters. In the US a system based solely on numbers is sometimes used. Which is the most popular grade of pencil purchased today?

Answer: HB (US #2)

Pencils go from 9B (softest) to 9H (hardest) with F and HB being in the middle. Generally the higher the H number, the harder the lead is and the lighter the line it will draw. The higher the B number is, the softer and darker the result. HB is the choice of most people as it produces a nice, even, dark line. The B pencils are mostly used by artists and the H by draftsmen.

In the US many companies use a system of numbers alone to grade pencils for writing - this is alongside the lettering system however, as the letter/number combination is still used for artists' and draftsmen's pencils.

9. Pencils are no use if they aren't sharp. The first portable pencil sharpener was patented in 1897 in America. Who invented it?

Answer: John Lee Love

John Lee Love of Massachusetts designed the "Love Sharpener." It was a very simple, portable pencil sharpener that is still used today. The pencil is put into the opening of the sharpener, turned by hand and the shavings stay inside the sharpener. The patent was granted in November 1897. The first electric sharpener is thought to have been designed by Raymond Loewy in the 1940s.
I just "love" the idea of a love sharpener!

10. There is a museum dedicated to the pencil near to the place where the first pure deposit was discovered in the 1560s. Where is this museum?

Answer: Keswick, Cumbria

The Cumberland pencil museum is in Keswick and is run by Derwent (who make pencils today). You enter via a replica of the original graphite mine and can explore the history of this versatile yet humble implement which has been into space and which will write underwater!
Cumberland is an alternative name for Cumbria.

Source: Author Mink

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Pencil Points Trivia Quiz

There's a lot more to this humble implement than you may think. Pencil in a slot in your diary to see how much you know.

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