The pencil “lead” is actually a mixture of graphite and clay. More clay in the mixture makes the lead harder. A harder lead has a higher number. Pencils are numbered from 1-3 but most people use a ...

Pencils were the original ‘word processors’. There is a surprising amount of history and chemistry behind this simple writing instrument.

Pencils, erasers, ballpoint pens - it was always ... The first patent for a ballpoint pen went to America’s John J Loud in 1888. His rolling ball design worked, but it wasn’t well suited ...

Some coloured pencils are water soluble - water can be brushed over them to blend colours. Water-soluble pencils are usually softer than ordinary coloured pencils and will go blunt more quickly.

Even the stars with the most iconic arches get a boost from brow pencils. WireImage; Getty Images; Getty Images for HISTORY; Revolve; Sephora Page Six may be compensated and/or receive an ...

Few sights have better captured America’s world-beating ingenuity. On October 13th a giant booster rocket built by SpaceX hurtled to the edge of the atmosphere before plunging back to Earth and ...

Writer, editor, publisher and fan of all things handwritten. When is the last time you actually picked up a pencil? This writing tool formally dates to the days when real lead was used (today ...

This series brings together the work of a new generation of scholars writing the history of “global” America across time periods, methodologies, and fields of analysis. Published books are informed by ...

In Spanish, parents call it encaminado: making sure your children are on the path to an independent adulthood. Out of Dan and Joana Moreno’s four grown children, only their daughter is ...

Over the past decade a form of wokeness arose on the illiberal left, characterised by extreme pessimism about America and its capacity to make progress. Analysis by The Economist of how ...

Chief among them is the Apple Pencil, a stylus that enables deeper and more precise interactions with iPads. Over the years, however, buying an Apple Pencil has become a bit of a headache.

No matter where you turned, you couldn’t ignore reality. America was the epicenter of a racial reckoning. Within days, people joined more than 10,000 demonstrations nationwide and a movement to ...