A pencil's lead is typically made from graphite, not lead

The story behind the answer

A pencil’s “lead” is actually graphite—a form of carbon. Its layered carbon sheets slide easily, leaving dark flakes on paper; no metallic lead is involved, so ordinary pencils don’t cause lead poisoning. The name stuck because ancient styluses were made of lead, and when a rich graphite deposit was found in 16th‑century England, it was mistaken for a kind of lead ore.

In 1795, Nicolas-Jac