pencil on Technabob...

People are often trying to come up with stuff to make various things and situations in life easier and simpler. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible in our highly complicated world today. Or is it?…

Traditional lead pencils are made of wood and have a small eraser stub at the end so you can rub your mistakes into oblivion. But often, these erasers are of poor quality and leave your paper with a nasty hole instead of erasing the offending mark.…

The last time I sharpened a pencil was when I took my licensure examination to become a Chemical Engineer. Before that, however, the last time I probably sharpened and used pencils on a regular basis was in third grade, before we made the switch to ballpoint pens.…

I had a friend who relied a lot on chance. Back in college, when we were having our exams, he would etch the letters A to E on the different faces of his pencil, near the eraser. Towards the end of the test, I would hear odd noises from his…

An elegantly concealed weapon covered in gold, this 1948 .22 cal pencil-pistol was made by The Late Maharaja of Jodhpur, who gave it as a present to Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. Sounds like a (minor) treasure worthy of Nathan Drake doesn’t it? The pencil has a removable…

Ever wanted to learn how to draw and paint, but don’t have the time or money to deal with real world art supplies? Well if you happen to own a Nintendo DSi, you can sign up for the Art Academy without so much as buying a tube of paint.

Art…

Getting students to stay “on task,” as they say, is a constant challenge in the modern school, but one company thinks they have part of the answer. British design company Concentrate has just debuted a new age in the ABCs of reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic… but in this case, that…

Feeling musically inclined, but haven’t the time or knowledge to write sheet music? Now you can produce your own sonic creations simply by doodling on a piece of paper.

Designed by Adafruit (in collaboration with Jay Silver), Drawdio is an analog synthesizer circuit that straps to any soft-leaded pencil, and…

If your kids aren’t getting beat up in school enough for your liking, then you could try your hand at these felt lightsaber pencil holders and see if that kicks it up a notch.

Seriously, this is a pretty cool idea, but there is one problem: they don’t actually resemble…

This is a pretty sweet autonomous robot that employs pencil erasers as bumpers. It’s called No. 2, Champion Autonomous Mini-Sumo Robot (a name that just rolls off the tongue, no?)

It was made by David Cook (not the American Idol winner, though, it’s a different David Cook.) The process of…