By 
Caroline Weaver
 | 
Original Content

Why the pencil is perfect

Why are pencils shaped like hexagons, and how did they get their iconic yellow color? Pencil shop owner Caroline Weaver takes us inside the fascinating history of the pencil.

Related tags:

writing
design
history
industrial design
TED is supported by ads and partners

Watch next

5:39
Robert Chang
The dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act
5:05
Francis de los Reyes
A brief history of toilets
4:53
Sheila Marie Orfano
Can you trust your memory?
5:07
Susan M. Reverby
Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment
4:57
Mark Robinson
A day in the life of the Oracle of Delphi
5:07
Soraya Field Fiorio
The epic of Gilgamesh, the king who tried to conquer death
4:49
Matthew Mazzotta
Playful, wondrous public spaces built for community and possibility
4:59
Alex Gendler
The woman who stared at the sun
5:12
Gary Devore
Run, sail or hide? How to survive the destruction of Pompeii
5:07
Orisanmi Burton
What really happened during the Attica Prison Rebellion
4:57
Alex Gendler
How one design flaw almost toppled a skyscraper
5:11
Ilan Stavans
Who decides what's in the dictionary?
5:15
Alex Gendler
Demolition, disease, and death: Building the Panama Canal
4:44
Rebecca J. Barthelmie and Sara C. Pryor
How do wind turbines work?
5:46
Alex Gendler
How the world's tallest skyscraper was built
5:08
Erick Wilberding
This tool will help improve your critical thinking
4:49
TED-Ed
Why good ideas get trapped in the valley of death -- and how to rescue them
4:46
Brian A. Pavlac
A brief history of the devil