Lead is a grey or silver-white soft metal. We've been using lead for thousands of years, because it's so useful. Unfortunately, lead is quite toxic to humans, which is why we have mostly replaced it ...

A class of fifth-graders from Green Acres Elementary in Lebanon, Ore., asked us to find out how pencil lead is made. That quest took us all the way back to the dawn of the universe and then all the ...

Wood passes through the loud whine of saws spinning at 8,000 revolutions per minute. Pencils clack-clack-clack as they shoot through a paint box and assume their various hues. Next is the din of ...