I was having trouble deciding what I think the best consumer product ever is, and deciding what angle to look at it from. Then it popped into my mind, we use writing and drawing implements every day of our lives especially considering we are on the path to becoming industrial designers. The one implement which has the widest range of uses is the pencil, we can use it as a medium for small line sketches to finely detailed renderings. But its use is not restricted to the design industry, pencils find their place in every office, house, construction site, and so on. The first records of the graphite pencil can be traced back to 1565 supposedly when a tree was uprooted in storm to reveal a black substance beneath its roots. It could be sawn into sticks for use, but it was soon discovered it would more practical to encase it in a wood shell. Two wooden halves were carved and glued on either side of the graphite stick. This reflects the same method used today.
The pencil is a great product which can be overlooked as being the best consumer product ever. As a medium for expression of ideas it cannot be beaten for its range of applications, being able to complete a range of jobs which may usually take several other pens and markers. Although there is a large range of types of pencils with different properties, the average graphite pencil can perform most tasks.
Just a few interesting facts about the pencil are it has the potential to draw a line 56 km long, write an average of 45,000 words and can be sharpened 17 times.
Jarrod Burge
Nice one Jarrod, and when the Soviets went into space the pencil worked in Zero-Gravity, whereas the US spent millions developing a pressurised pen! Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteRobbie