The Surprising History of the Pencil

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Posted on May 30, 2015 10:42 am in All Neat-o

The Surprising History of the Pencil (brainpickings.org)

The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. The magic material that was so appropriate for the purpose was the form of pure carbon that we call graphite. It was first discovered in Europe, in Bavaria at the start of the fifteenth century; although the Aztecs had used it as a marker several hundred years earlier.

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