In some parts of the US, students have already returned to the classroom, while others are frantically squeezing the last drops of freedom from summer break as they prepare to start a new school year. One school supply that unites most students is the classic, yellow-coated, No. 2 pencil. For centuries, the pencil was a tool so vital that many would use theirs until only a tiny stub remained. An entire market for various pencil accoutrements existed in the 18th and 19th centuries, including a pencil grip called an ‘extender’ that allowed you to use the last bit of a pencil so as not to waste what was, at the time, a precious commodity. Think of it in terms of all the things you buy to enhance your mobile phone or tablet, and then imagine that the pencil once held equal value as a communication device. (In our hearts, it still does.)
Class, please take out a No. 2 pencil…
Today in History
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World Octopus Day
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National Napping Day
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Not your average sandcastle
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Unbearable cuteness
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Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
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There was gold in them there hills…
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It s Independence Day
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Grab onto the handlebars, kid
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Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
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Regional Park of Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli, Italy
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National Mushroom Month
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World Laughter Day—it s a hoot
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Antarctica Day
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Nha Phu Bay, Nha Trang, Vietnam
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Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
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A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
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Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
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Jackie Robinson Day
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Happy Father s Day
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Ravens
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The Tour de France begins
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International Museum Day
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La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
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Ready, set, read
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Surf s up—Down Under
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The Bahamas
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Women s suffrage at 100
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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Kissing Day
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Fog above the forest