original template by Ray Lam, Fall 97

web page by Marisha Barlatier, Spring 98

~Pencil~ An average pencil is a house-hold object that most people can not live without. ItÕs usually straight, long, and narrow. The body of it is yellow, and and sometimes the manufacturerÕs brand name is printed on it. At one end of the pencil, there is a point, which is the end you write with. On the other end, thereÕs a eraser, usually pink, which can be used to erase mistakes. It is not completely round, but has six angles to make it easier to hold. Like humans, the pencil has evolved from a rather primitive shape to become what it is today. It first took form as a piece of charcoal in Egypt, about 200 or more years B.C. Next, it appeared as a long stick of led in Ancient Rome. Soon, the pencil was used in the form of a quill pen in 1564 A.D. Nicholas Conte later invented the basic model of the pencil that we know today in France, 1795 A.D. The pencil has improved a little over the years, bending to the latest fashion by changing itÕs color or shape. You can even find pencils with erasers that are in the shapes of animals, people, words, or a football. Nicholas Jacques Conte was a French chemist. He did not really invent the pencil, but just discovered it through a combination of all of the different forms that it has taken over a period of about 2, 200 years. He merely designed a writing utensil that mixed all of the conveniences of each form in one. He figured out that if he could find a really easy to use writing utensil, then it would help people all over the world and would also sell for a lot of money. There is a saying that goes like this: Ò Necessity is the mother of invention.Ó Though it was not a necessity that the world be provided with a simple, fashionable, and convenient device, it certainly has made millions of peoplesÕ lives a lot easier. ¥paragraph on pencil ¥by Heather Peterson ¥11-20-97