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The graphite behind a pencil's old lead name

Every child is told to be careful with their pencil 'lead,' even though the core in a modern graphite pencil is not metallic lead. When a massive deposit of pure, solid graphite was discovered in sixteenth-century England, locals thought the dark, shiny mineral was a form of black lead, and the name stuck long after chemists proved graphite was actually carbon.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • When does an inherited name help us recognize an object, and when does it mislead?
  • How could historical use of the word lead be checked against what a modern pencil actually contains?

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