Celebrate the pencil March 30
Free Pencils and How to Use Them

The library will celebrate the all-important pencil on Sunday, March 30 – the 150th anniversary of the patent on the pencil as we know it today. To celebrate Pencil Day, the library will be giving away pencils, sharpeners and pencil cases at the Main Branch from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Also, during that time, children can receive a free sketching lesson from local artist Jeromy Moore.

Some things you might not know about pencils (according to the Musgrave Pencil Company):

• The pencil was invented in 1565.
• The eraser-topped pencil was patented by Hyman Lipman on March 30, 1858.
• Pencils didn’t have erasers on them before that because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.
• More than 14 billion pencils are produced in the world every year – enough to circle the globe 62 times.
• One million pencils are used annually on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
• A good-sized tree will make about 300,000 pencils.
• One pencil will draw a line 70 miles long.
• Pencils don’t really contain lead. That gray matter is graphite and clay.
• Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” in pencil.