Consider these well-known adages
“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
and
“Knowledge is power.”
I find it amusing and appropriate that the pencil I’m using (or used to write the first draft of this) is called Mirado Black Warrior. “Mirado” mean “look,” as a noun, in Spanish. (i.e. “She’s got the look.”) The Black Warrior seems to imply that this black pencil is to fight. While “warrior” does not have a code of ethics associated with it like “samurai” does, “warrior” also seems to emit the ideals of honor, integrity and fighting for the truth. This requires strength, conjures images of swords and glorious battles, the gain of ruling power.
Often, written and saved content is seen as researchable, a document or record where one gain gain knowledge. With this pencil, you could create knowledge. I wonder if the these ideas were all concocted in the advertising/marketing room of the Papermate company.
So, putting all of this together, the message on the pencil seems to say
“Look! I’m powerful!”
and additionally implies that
“Wielding me, you can create and become powerful!”
—— —— ——
In searching for an image to include in this post (which I will hopefully supply my own at a later date), I came across someone else blogging about the Black Warrior pencil. I was unaware that pencil blogging occurred, but then again, I’m sure not many people know about archive blogging. This is a fascinating entry and short blog on the components and comparisons of different pencils. Enjoy!
Pencil Grinder’s Weblog: For the love of a wooden pencil…
And apparently my interpretation of “mirado” is incorrect. A bit of history on this pencil can be found at Pencils.com, at the specific link below.
Mirado Pencils…Rich in History, from Eagle, Berol, Sanford and now Papermate
One final thought…
While reading the Pencil Grinder’s About section, it makes me wonder how many places keep archives of pencils? Aside from the pencil creators and the specifications of the types of wood and lead to use, who keeps examples? Is there a pencil musuem? An archive of past pencils? They have been around for decades and still are necessary in education settings for any Scantron-based test.
Oh yeah, and archivsits use them all the time.
For a funny and even sillier interpretation of the pencil, or anything else, the Uncyclopedia has some articles to make anyone smile and nod.
I believe Papermate and other pencil-making companies have museums. If they get any cultural money, they usually make some type of display in the lobbies of their main buildings for visitors to enjoy.
Of course, there are people like me who abhor pencils of any kind and will only use pens.