Did you know that modern pencils owe it all to an ancient Roman writing instrument called a stylus? Scribes used this thin metal rod to leave a light, but readable mark on papyrus (an early form of paper). Other early styluses were made of lead, which is what we still call pencil cores even though they actually are made of non-toxic graphite.

This 5 minutes video explains how pencil is made.

Image via Flickr