InterestingFacts: Yellow Pencils Used to be Sold as a Luxury Item

 

Today, yellow pencils are just normal, generic pencils, but when they were popularized in the late 19th century, they were considered the height of luxury. Before then, lacquered pencils were often a sign of low-quality wood that needed to be covered up, and they were usually finished in darker colors such as black or maroon. A decent pencil, meanwhile, would either be plain or varnished wood. But that all changed with the introduction of luxury pencils made with the finest, purest graphite, which came from a mine on the border of China and Siberia. 

The German pencil manufacturer Faber (now Faber-Castell) was the first company to get its hands on graphite from the region, and it allowed for extremely fine-tuned pencil formulas, with 16 different degrees of hardness and softness. This was a big deal in the pencil world, and Faber boasted in its catalogs that “Siberian graphite” was “a household word amongst artists, engineers, designers and draftsmen generally.” Around the same time, pencil-maker Franz von Hardtmuth decided to develop an expensive luxury pencil to compete with Faber’s Siberian graphite. He created a pencil with 17 grades of hardness — one more than Faber’s — and started dressing it up to bring to market. The new pencil got 14 coats of yellow lacquer and tips sprayed in gold paint, and was named the Koh-I-Noor 1500, after the famed large diamond.

Yellow was an auspicious color: It was known as the Chinese color of health and good fortune, so it winked at the sought-after Asian graphite, although it’s unclear where Hardtmuth’s graphite actually came from. Combined with the pencil’s black tip, it also displayed the colors of the Austro-Hungarian flag. The Koh-I-Noor 1500 pencil hit the market in 1888, and, even with the higher price tag, it was a smash hit. Other pencil companies, particularly those eager to associate themselves with Asian graphite, also started painting their pencils yellow; by 1895, even Faber had a “Yellow Siberian” pencil. The American-made Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil — the yellow one ubiquitous in classrooms today — debuted in 1913.


Note:  The above comes directly from their website.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HistoryFacts: Nine Cities Have Served As America's Capital

Image
  F rom 1776 to 1800, the United States capital bounced around between  nine different cities . This frequent relocation was due to a mix of safety concerns amid the American Revolutionary War and a lack of a bureaucratic infrastructure in one centralized place. Philadelphia served as the nation’s first capital (at the time, the capital was considered to be the city where Congress met and enacted legislation) after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. But due to safety concerns regarding a potential British attack on the city, Congress relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, on December 20, 1776, and the seat of government remained there for just over two months.  Congress returned to Philadelphia in March 1777, but fled once again due to the British occupation of the city that September. Delegates retreated further into Pennsylvania, settling in Lancaster for a single day on September 27, 1777, and then moving to York. After the British army departe...
Read more

InterestingFacts: Americal's First Theme Park was Focused on Santa Claus

Image
America's first theme park was focused on Santa Claus. In most cities, Christmas comes once a year… unless you live in Santa Claus, Indiana, the self-proclaimed home of the holiday season and America’s first theme park: Santa Claus Land. While amusement parks have  existed in the U.S. since the 1840s , at the beginning the general idea was just having fun. It wasn’t until 1946, with Santa Claus Land’s opening, that amusement parks  began developing specific themes . The attraction took advantage of the town’s unique name, hoping to draw in visitors who wanted to experience a bit of holiday spirit any time of year, and especially youngsters keen to meet St. Nick himself. Owner Louis Koch, who built the theme park as a retirement project, planned the destination with children in mind; his original park featured a toy shop, doll displays, children’s rides, and a restaurant. Over time, Koch also added a mini circus, deer farm, wax museum, and live entertainment. But Santa Claus La...
Read more

InterestingFacts: It's Technically Impossible to be "Double-Jointed"

Image
  It’s technically impossible to be “double-jointed.” Growing up, many people encounter that one friend who seems to be especially flexible — thumbs curve back, limbs jut out at awkward angles, and legs bend with unparalleled pliability. While this contortionist act is often said to be the result of being “double-jointed,” such a medical  diagnosis doesn’t actually exist . Instead, a large portion of humanity is  best described  as having “hypermobility” or “joint laxity.” This means that some people are born with loose ligaments or other bone oddities that make them more flexible than most. For the majority, hyperflexibility isn’t harmful, but a small percentage — those with  joint hypermobility syndrome  — can experience pain. So in the end, all humans have the same number of joints, but as for the tautness of our ligaments? Well, that’s a different story. Note:  The above comes directly from the Interesting Facts website.
Read more