Why is a pencil called a pencil?

The history of the pencil is very long, it originated more than 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece, ancient Rome. At that time, pencils were rudimentary, just a lead rod or even a lead block in a metal case. But literally, it's a real "pencil".

And the pencils we use today are made of graphite and clay, and there is no lead in them.

The progenitor of the modern pencil was born in the mid-16th century in the Brodeer Valley in the Cumberland Mountains of England. In 1564, a black ore called graphite was discovered in the Valle de Brodier where writing could be written, and they cut it into thin strips and shipped it to London** for merchants to mark on baskets and chests, hence the name "marker stone". The graphite ore here is like a gift from God for the production of pencils, which is pure, smooth and not easy to break.

Later, graphite rods were inserted into small drilled wooden sticks, and pencils similar to those used today were made.

Due to the popularity of pencils made from graphite from the Brodier Valley in various European countries, the high-purity graphite mines were quickly depleted due to excessive mining. So people began to study the use of artificial methods to extract and process graphite.

In 1761, the German chemist Vanba established the world's first pencil factory. He mixed graphite, sulfur, antimony and rosin into a paste, which was then squeezed into strips to dry, improving the toughness of graphite and becoming the prototype of today's pencil.

In the 18th century, only England and Germany could produce pencils. Later, due to the effects of the war, the French pencil ** was discontinued. Napoleon, Emperor of France at the time, ordered his own chemist, Nicolas Conte, to produce his pencils from local materials.

Conti mixed low-quality graphite from France with clay, adjusted its hardness and color by controlling the ratio of clay to graphite, and then baked it in a kiln to make a refill, and then wrapped the refill with a barrel made of pine wood. The pencil produced in this way became the best pencil of the time. After it came out, it quickly spread around the world.

In 1822, Hawkins of England collaborated with Moda to invent the first "telescopic pencil". In 1838, the American Keilane invented the "movable pencil". Since then, it has undergone many improvements and gradually developed into today's "mechanical pencil".

When it first came out as a new product, it was called a pencil for the hype of the concept. It's true!

Because the refill looks more like lead.

The original pencils were made of lead, but the lead was poisonous, and now they are all charcoal.

1. The pencil lead does not contain lead, and its main component is graphite. In the 15th century, graphite ore was discovered, and people at that time did not know the composition of graphite, so they called graphite (blacklead). Around 1492, people in England began to use pens made of graphite, called pencils.

2. Pencil (qiān bǐ, pencil) is a kind of pen used for writing and painting sketches, which has a history of more than 400 years. Pencil leads do not contain lead, and its main component is graphite.

3. Because lead will have black marks when writing on rocks or walls, people used lead as a drawing and writing tool in ancient Greece and Rome. In ancient China, it was written on silk and paper, and if there was a mistake, it was corrected with lead powder, so the word pencil did exist in ancient texts, but it was different from modern pencils.

4. In the fifteenth century, graphite ore was discovered, and people at that time did not know the composition of graphite, so they called graphite (blacklead). Around 1492, people in England began to use pens made of graphite, called pencils. It wasn't until 1779 that scientists learned that graphite was a form of carbon.

It is made by grinding graphite into powder, mixing it with clay, and then pouring it into two semi-circular wooden tubes.