I saw that often, when I was a kid, and pencils were wood pencils. Not sure why those old-timers did that, but mechanical pencils are just too danged pointy to lick! I, for one, still use a pencil some. Seem to use the eraser more, though!
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
