It is the most sophisticated communication device ever created, with its own built-in replacement cartridge and delete feature. No, I’m not talking about the computer, I’m talking about the pencil.
The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving under Napoleon. The key to Conte’s invention was a form of pure carbon called graphite, which the Aztecs had already used as a marker hundreds of years earlier. It was, at first, mistakenly believed to be a form of lead (hence the term “pencil lead”). It was officially relabled graphite in 1789, from the Greek word graphein, meaning “to write.”
The word pencil is older. Derived from the Latin term pencillus, “little tail,” it was first applied to the ink brushes used for writing during the Middle Ages, but was later reassigned to Conte’s marvelous new invention.
Most important of all, however, is a fact known by writers and school children for over two hundred years: the pencil, unlike the computer, provides a unique and irreplaceable form of…
Chew therapy.
My pencils and pens are all chewed up or broken. This was very interesting.
😆 So hilariously true!! Great post, Mitch!!☺️
Absolutely relatable!
I found the solution in my stylus 😉
;>)
So true, great post.
Your post is further proof of the direct link between writing and chewing… something. Maybe now someone will invent the answer to the question you pose.
Always happy to help advance the frontiers of pseudo-psychology.
Great share on the backstory of a common tool 🙂 I used to chew pencils all the time. I switched to mechanical and don’t chew anymore. They just don’t taste the same lol.
As a teacher, I deplore finding a chewed pencil. Savage nibblers are rather intimidating. What else do they gnaw on?
“Savage nibblers.” Sounds so “Lord of the Flies.” ;>)
I think those boyos were chompers, not nibblers. Nibblers are more demure.
I love the quote from You’ve Got Mail: “…a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.”
I agree. Good old Nora Ephron.
The best. 🙂
Perhaps a teething ring attached to the laptop is the answer. It doesn’t have the same taste for the creative mind, but it can be chilled to help soothe the pains of writer’s block.
Good point. New writers do a lot of teething, and older writers have overly sensitive gums.
And is much better than a computer for tapping someone on the shoulder to get their attention.
And considerably gentler.
You DO ruminate on the most interesting topics, Mitch. I never before considered the therapeutic qualities of pencil chewing! As another former teacher, I’m with Cricket Muse, above. Chewed pencils always seemed a cause for concern. Germs, for one!
Typical schoolmarm!
🙂