<Dl> <Dt> Plastic pencils </Dt> <Dd> </Dd> </Dl> <P> Invented by Harold Grossman for Empire Pencil Company in 1967 and subsequently improved upon by Arthur D. Little for Empire from 1969 through the early 1970s; the plastic pencil was commercialised by Empire as the "EPCON" Pencil . These pencils were co-extruded, extruding a plasticised graphite mix within a wood - composite core . </P> <P> Residual graphite from a pencil stick is not poisonous, and graphite is harmless if consumed . </P> <P> Although lead has not been used for writing since antiquity, lead poisoning from pencils was not uncommon . Until the middle of the 20th century the paint used for the outer coating could contain high concentrations of lead, and this could be ingested when the pencil was sucked or chewed . </P>

Why do we use a number 2 pencil