August 17th is National #2 Pencil Day: check out 6 fun facts about the #2 pencil

I recently stumbled upon the fact that August 17^th is National #2 Pencil Day.  There is also a National Pencil Day in March so why just celebrate the #2 pencil this month?  I could not find the answer, but I did find out these 6 interesting facts about pencils in my quest for the answer.

• Most pencils are not made with lead but with a mixture of graphite and clay.
• Pencils where originally painted yellow as a way to show the highest quality.
• The eraser was first attached to a pencil and patented by Hyman Lipman in 1858.  He sold the patent in 1862 for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer who then sued pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell for patent infringement.  Reckendorfer lost the case as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the patent was invalid.
• There are twenty grades of pencils that range from the hardest (light marking) to the softest (dark marking).  They are graded from 9H to 9B with HB and F in the middle of those grades.
• The #2 pencil is usually equal to HB, while the #2 ½ pencil is equal to the F grade.
• Most wood pencils today are made from Incense Cedar.

 Have you ever heard of National #2 Pencil Day? Seems like they have a funny holiday for just about everything these days!

 source: wikipedia.com