Get your pencils ready, today is National Handwriting Day. Here are a few fun facts about its founders and their products.
The day was established in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to rekindle the public's interest in handwritten communications and encourage people, on that day, to handwrite a letter, note or poem. They chose the date because it was John Hancock's birthday, the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. Today his name is synonymous with a signature.
A typical pencil can draw a line 35 miles long and write 45,000 words. A ballpoint pen can draw a line 4,000 to 7,500 feet long.
Pencils have been painted yellow since the late 1800s. American pencil makers wanted the public to know that their pencils were made with high-quality Chinese graphite. In China, the color yellow represents royalty and respect, so yellow was chosen to communicate a "regal" feeling.
Dreaming of pencils? According to the WIMA, seeing a pencil in your dream indicates that you're making a temporary impact on a situation. Or it means that a relationship may not last.
Left-handed pencils do exist. On left-handed pencils, the words printed on them start at the top and move toward the point. On right-handed pencils, the words start at the tip and move up to the top.
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