20 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE PENCIL.

The article presents miscellaneous facts about pencils used for writing. Since pencils use a graphite rather than a lead writing medium, they cannot cause lead poisoning. The word "graphite" derives from the Greek work meaning to write. "Pencil" is from the Latin meaning "little tail." American author Henry David Thoreau used pencils to write "Walden," and his father owned a pencil-making business near Boston, Massachusetts.