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Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

artsy.net

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Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#81

Post by ubercow13 »

KirinDave wrote: post #46

So the story is, as it is for nearly every physical artifact in my life, "Because people are easily lured by bright objects and catchy marketing into associating quality with anything but the quality of the goods." I'm reminded of User Testing at Powerset. When we did unbranded search testing of Wikipedia, late-stage Powerset usually won most search comparisons by users. But if we branded the search results against G…

That could have been because people have learned to associate Google with good search results, because of the 'quality of the goods'

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#83

Post by Symbiote »

notatoad wrote: post #50
Symbiote wrote: post #5

Almost all the pencils in my childhood were red. The manufacturer was Berol. Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children, and they probably all came from the same supplier. The high-quality ones, which a relative who was a draughtsman used, were dark green [1] [1] https://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-x-Berol-Venus-H-Fine-Quality-Writ...

>Of course, my schools didn't necessarily buy the highest quality pencils for the children if your schools are buying pencils for the students, you're one up over my childhood in canada.

A quick search suggests pencils, pens etc are still provided for the youngest children. Paper, exercise books and textbooks are provided for all of school.

I think the average 7 year old has their own pencils and pens. My mum was a teacher in a secondary school in a poor area; she always had spare pencils and pens for any child without one — which if it was frequent, was probably a small hint that home life might not be great for that child.

The wider area was of average wealth, and the school bought the pencils my mum gave out. I think, in some areas with particularly underfunded schools, teachers are known to spend their own money on things the poorest children need.

(I grew up in England.)

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#84

Post by presidentender »

felipemnoa wrote: post #77
Yhippa wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was honestly expecting a story similar to why barns are red.

My totally uninformed, off the cuff guess: because red was/is the cheapest paint color you could get.

It happens that linseed oil and rust, which make for cheap rot prevention and waterproofing, stains the wood red. You're basically correct.

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#85

Post by blattimwind »

presidentender wrote: post #84
felipemnoa wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My totally uninformed, off the cuff guess: because red was/is the cheapest paint color you could get.

It happens that linseed oil and rust, which make for cheap rot prevention and waterproofing, stains the wood red. You're basically correct.

(Falun red. The pigment, and main ingredient apart from flour and linseed oil, is basically garbage from a copper mine.)

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#86

Post by blattimwind »

airstrike wrote: post #9

In my mind, Faber-Castell will forever be the ultimate pencil. I think yellow pencils are a staple of American culture but in my mind pencils are green... http://www.fabercastell.com/products/pencils/GraphitepencilC...

I use Faber Castell pencils in 3H and 4H in my workshop, they're quite good. Sharpen to a very fine point easily that lasts a while when marking metal or wood surfaces.

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#88

Post by delib »

blue1 wrote: post #78
toyg wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Italy, quality in everyday pencils used to be associated to Staedtler, and their pencils were striped black/yellow.

What you are describing are Koh-i-noor pencils. Staedtler pencils are blue, with the black top.

Not all are: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0644/8811/products/Staedtl...

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#89

Post by ars »

azurezyq wrote: post #67
j0e1 wrote: post #39

Growing up in India, all the pencils I used were red and black striped made by Nataraj. I remember seeing yellow pencils in western movies though. https://cwpencils.com/collections/nataraj/products/621-hb-pe...

Grown up in China and most popular pencils were coded in dark green made by Zhonghua. https://img3.doubanio.com/lpic/s9122591.jpg Yellow ones are rare there.

Does the color green have a meaning in China?

Re: Why Pencils Are Yellow (2017)

#90

Post by thaumasiotes »

KirinDave wrote: post #46

So the story is, as it is for nearly every physical artifact in my life, "Because people are easily lured by bright objects and catchy marketing into associating quality with anything but the quality of the goods." I'm reminded of User Testing at Powerset. When we did unbranded search testing of Wikipedia, late-stage Powerset usually won most search comparisons by users. But if we branded the search results against G…

> So the story is, as it is for nearly every physical artifact in my life, "Because people are easily lured by bright objects and catchy marketing into associating quality with anything but the quality of the goods."

Bright? According to the article, the pencils were painted yellow to symbolize China, because their graphite was sourced from Siberia. (Seems like a stretch, but that's what it says...)

What does brightness have to do with it?

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