Pencils have been painted yellow ever since the 1890s.
And that bright color isn't just so you can find them on your desk more easily!

During the 1800s, the best graphiteⁱ in the world came from China. American pencil makers wanted a special way to tell people that their pencils contained Chinese graphite.

In China, the color yellow is associated with royalty and respect. American pencil manufacturers began painting their pencils bright yellow to communicate this "regal" feeling and association with China.

The rest, as they say, is history. Today, a the majority of basic hexagonal graphite writing pencils sold in the United States are painted yellow! For more information on this see WoodChuck's Timberlines blog post The Myth of the Yellow Pencil.

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