Re: Why did people used to lick the tip of their pencil before they wrote?

Hi Jim Brennan--


To answer your two questions:

(1) I have searched quite a lot on the Internet to try to find out why 
people licked the tip of the pencil before writing.  In all my searching, 
I can tell you that this may be one of those questions with an "I don't 
know" answer.  I haven't found any information that gives a reason for 
this, BUT I did contact a company that  sells pencil products.  I posed 
your question to them when I was having no luck with my searches."Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Pencil Lead"  provided some
good information.  Their response  to me was that perhaps licking the
pencil was a "habit" for some people akin to a nervous habit that may
have helped the person to better concentrate  or think regarding whatever the person was going to write 
down.  That sounded pretty reasonable; however, the company's researcher 
said that they could find no basic reason why this was done.  Outside of 
this, it seems that noone is really sure why some people licked the tip of 
the pencil prior to writing.

(2)  Now, as it relates to the lead poisoning question, actually I learned 
a lot in researching for your two questions.  Don't worry about getting 
lead posioning from licking the tip of the pencil or getting any of the 
lead shavings on your hands because actually the center of the pencil, 
called the writing core, is made of a nontoxic mineral ore known as 
graphite!  Graphite is a  form of carbon and is NOT dangerous to your 
health and it will NOT cause lead poisoning.  This may be one of the 
BIGGEST misconceptions; but, it is understandable with the emphasis on a 
cleaner, safer, more natural environment.  Graphite came into use during 
the 16th century where a large graphite deposit was discoverd in England.  
The mineral is a black mineral and supposedly someone walked by and 
noticed the black mineral clinging to the roots of a fallen tree.  This 
graphite then became known as "plumbago" or "blacklead."  Hence, this is 
the reason why the "lead" in the pencil, which is the writing core, is 
still known as "pencil lead."  This nontoxic material left a darkish mark 
so artists, writers, and others began using it.  In 1821, Charles Dunbar 
discovered a graphite deposit in the New England area of the northeastern 
United States, and because this mineral was of such a high quality, the 
graphite was introduced into the pencils in this country and it was known 
as the pencil lead.  As a matter of fact, the "lead" in pencils of today 
are often made of a combination of graphite and clay.  If the ratio or 
amount of graphite to clay is varied, then pencil makers can adjust the 
"hardness" of the writing core or pencil lead.  So, what this means is 
that we have #1, #2, or #3 pencils.  As the number gets higher, then the 
harder the writing core.

Well Jim Brennan, I hope this helps you out some and I only wish that I 
could have found a REAL reason, other than "I don't know," for why people 
licked the tip of the pencil before writing.  Thanks for your questions, 
and think of some more!!---Rhonda Lowe

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Admin note:

Dian Beydoun adds the following:


Having had first hand experience using that type of pencil ,the answer to
the question is that in the old days the filaments used in pencils were
made of different material  than today's graphite which is charcoal
colored and its particles separate easily on friction with the paper
surface leaving clear marks.  The old material did not leave much of a
mark on the paper due to its high density.  It was water soluble and if
left in a water filled container ,will dissolve completely.  On contact
with water it changes color from dark charcoal like color to violet
blue.  In order to leave a clear mark on paper it was necessary to
actually moisten the tip of the pencil filament with your saliva ,the
resulting product behaved and flowed like ink.