Did you know... that the English language word 'pencil' derives from the Latin word 'Pencillus', which literally translates as 'little tail'?
In German, they're known as 'bleistift', which is a straight translation of 'lead pen'.
The biggest irony is that pencils don't contain lead... they actually contain graphite, with the substance first being discovered and utilised as a writing material in 1564 in Borrowdale, Cumbria.
The locals used it to good effect - it was their way of marking sheep!