[robocat]

  NASA wanted to avoid pencils because the lead could easily break off and float away, creating a hazard to astronauts and sensitive electronics on the spacecraft In fact, a pencil is such an impractical alternative in space that cosmonauts also have been using Space Pens since 1969

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/space-pens

You don't want conductive graphite particles shorting out electronics nor do you want flammable dust or wood flakes.

Good engineers learn to smell out simple but wrong answers.

[lr1970]

> You don't want conductive graphite particles shorting out electronics nor do you want flammable dust or wood flakes.

For decades mechanical pencils use non-conducting polymer based refills that eliminate the problem you mention.

[robocat]

Polymer leads were invented by the Japanese late 50's.

Pentel use manga (漫画 whimsical/informal drawings) to write the history of a burnt rice ball being the inspiration: https://pentel.ca/docs/e_manga.pdf (page 7 with the title "Pentel's Sharp Pencil Refills").

Previously there were clutch pencils using the historical fired clay and graphite https://www.bl.uk/stories/blogs/posts/the-history-of-the-pen...

As usual Germans claim inventing it first https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/the-european-t... ). Why are there no teutonic Space Pencil jokes?