Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Hold That Thought -- If You Can

Engineering's Poet Laureate Henry Petroski in The Pencil,* quoting and commenting on an 1897 Century Sears, Roebuck and Co. ad for a pencil with a triangular cross-section:

''This shape prevents the fingers becoming cramped while writing and also the possibility of their rolling from the desk."

...Most writers do not worry about their fingers rolling from the desk....

354 pages (not including bibliography) on the history, technology and philosophy of the common pencil and its myriad creators, refiners, producers and users. Utterly fascinating. If you enjoy that sort of thing, you should head on over to the Amazon link at Tam's and pick up a copy!
__________________________________
* Not to be confused with Leonard Read's libertarian (and far shorter) essay, I, Pencil. Have you read it?
at

6 comments:

  1. Turk TuronNovember 18, 2009 at 7:43 AM

    My favorite part of The Pencil is the description of the measures that the British took to make sure that their "strategic reserves" of pencil graphite did not fall into the hands of the Germans.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rev. PaulNovember 18, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    I suspect the "fingers rolling from the desk" part applies only to graduates of the Edward Scissorhands School of Writing and Horticulture.

    wv: "nohype" ... heh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CrucisNovember 18, 2009 at 1:21 PM

    I had several triangular pens and pencils while I was in the AF. Aircraft, like ships at sea, aren't known for being stable platforms.

    ReplyDelete
  4. rickn8orNovember 18, 2009 at 8:26 PM

    Crucis--
    I hate to think what the gummint paid for those "special-purpose" pens and pencils.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CrucisNovember 19, 2009 at 10:48 AM

    Rickn8or, the gubmint didn't spend a dime. I bought'em at a local office supply store.

    ReplyDelete
  6. staghoundsNovember 21, 2009 at 3:57 PM

    That was the first "book about one thing" I ever read.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment will not be visible until approved. Arguing or use of insulting or derogatory language will result in your comment going unpublished: no name-calling. Comments I deem excessively partisan will not be published.