We Are All Number 2 Pencils

How the global community works to create us all

Cool Photo by Jenny Pace on Unsplash

I saw a meme the other day that was pointing out the fact that no one person in this world could make a number 2 pencil on their own. The main point was that it takes a global community to produce even the simplest of our tools.

As a mechanical brain, I endeavored to pull the argument apart and much to my surprise, I couldn’t. They were correct. A number two pencil requires quite a list of resources.

Just for the basics components you are looking at the following:

• Lead
• Wood
• Rubber
• Brass
• Paint

On top of these basic ingredients, they need to have specific tooling in order to piece them all together. Things like:

• Saws
• Lathes
• Metal working tools
• Wood working tools
• Rubber processing equipment
• Lead refinement equipment
• Paint producing equipment along with pigments
• Final assembly tooling

If we go even a step further, you’d need to know the practices and processes of each of those. We won’t even…