Our school aged students have been back in the routine for a couple of months now. By now, the “newness” has worn off and the routine has set in. One of the things that I looked forward to at the beginning of a school year was new writing utensils. In elementary school, the cool ones were those that had some type of theme printed on them. NFL teams were my favorite to have pencil wars with. In middle school, I remember the pencils that had the removable plastic cartridges that you pulled out of the bottom and replaced at the top. The worst thing that could happen was losing one of those cartridges and the pencil became useless. But they were so cool looking. Next came the mechanical pencil. They came in .07 and .05. No one knew what that meant but it was so satisfying to give yourself a fake shot with one of those. The really fancy ones came with a pack of replacement erasers. So why did we need all these “improved” pencils? What was the purpose of the evolution? To make the pencil company more money, of course! Who likes a plain looking No. 2 yellow school pencil? According to author Caroline Weaver, at one time in the world, everyone! In her book, Pencils You Should Know: A History of Ultimate Writing Utensil in 75 Anecdotes, Weaver tracks the history of pencil making and how manufactures have made millions by changing just a few things to separate themselves from the competition. https://www.amazon.com/Pencils-You-Should-Know-throughout/dp/1452178372/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
According to Weaver’s research, John Thoreau was the first successful pencil maker in the US. He began in the 1810s with his son Henry David, who would later become famous for his writing. At the same time in Europe, the “yellow No. 2” had not be invented. 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. In 1893, at the World’s Fair in Chicago, the Austrian pencil brand L&C Hardtmuth changed all of that with what they called a luxury pencil. What made this one special? Called the Koh-I-Noor (after the famous diamond), the pencil boasted the finest high-quality Chinese graphite and visually set itself apart with its bright fourteen coats of golden yellow paint. The pencil was so popular that copycats began to pop up using the “pencil yellow” color, but less expensive graphite. By 1895 the large German company Faber had a “Yellow Siberian” pencil. The American-made Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil (the one we had to take all the bubble tests with) arrived in 1913. According to Caroline Weaver’s research, it was the finest, purest graphite, that came from a mine on the border of China and Siberia that made the first “yellow pencil” so unique, but it was the company’s decision to paint them yellow that made them famous.
Stories like these have always stood out to me because it demonstrates the power of suggestion. Most people don’t take the time to look inside if the outside looks like the real thing! “Don’t judge a book by the cover,” is a popular caution that calls our attention to check the contents before making a decision. Jesus used a similar description to point out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His time. In fact, most of Matthew 23 contains metaphor after metaphor to describe how the religious leaders look good on the outside, but are corrupt on the inside. In verses 27-28 Jesus charges them in saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
A fancy yellow pencil with inferior graphite, a dynamic looking cover on a horribly written book, or a hypocrite passing himself off as righteous; all serve as cautionary examples of not acting too quickly. They also serve as reminders to us about our own character. Don’t try to be something you are not. Use what God has given you for His glory and your life will be a well written story!
For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
According to Weaver’s research, John Thoreau was the first successful pencil maker in the US. He began in the 1810s with his son Henry David, who would later become famous for his writing. At the same time in Europe, the “yellow No. 2” had not be invented. 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. In 1893, at the World’s Fair in Chicago, the Austrian pencil brand L&C Hardtmuth changed all of that with what they called a luxury pencil. What made this one special? Called the Koh-I-Noor (after the famous diamond), the pencil boasted the finest high-quality Chinese graphite and visually set itself apart with its bright fourteen coats of golden yellow paint. The pencil was so popular that copycats began to pop up using the “pencil yellow” color, but less expensive graphite. By 1895 the large German company Faber had a “Yellow Siberian” pencil. The American-made Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil (the one we had to take all the bubble tests with) arrived in 1913. According to Caroline Weaver’s research, it was the finest, purest graphite, that came from a mine on the border of China and Siberia that made the first “yellow pencil” so unique, but it was the company’s decision to paint them yellow that made them famous.
Stories like these have always stood out to me because it demonstrates the power of suggestion. Most people don’t take the time to look inside if the outside looks like the real thing! “Don’t judge a book by the cover,” is a popular caution that calls our attention to check the contents before making a decision. Jesus used a similar description to point out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His time. In fact, most of Matthew 23 contains metaphor after metaphor to describe how the religious leaders look good on the outside, but are corrupt on the inside. In verses 27-28 Jesus charges them in saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
A fancy yellow pencil with inferior graphite, a dynamic looking cover on a horribly written book, or a hypocrite passing himself off as righteous; all serve as cautionary examples of not acting too quickly. They also serve as reminders to us about our own character. Don’t try to be something you are not. Use what God has given you for His glory and your life will be a well written story!
For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
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