National Pencil Day (30 March)

Sorry, I got behind. Too late for you to celebrate.
(1) I like pencils. I rejoice when I find one, among the heaps of dead and dying ballpoint pens, in the kitchen. I can use it to add something to the shopping list. If the point's broken or dull, I have a little pencil sharpener that can fix it. Old tech, still works. Pencil keeps on working until it's...gone!
(2) First appears in English ca.1350 meaning a small fine-tipped paint brush. (Its closest cognate is French pinceau, which still means 'paint brush'.) The device we now know as a "pencil" was invented in the 16th century, and the earliest attestations use expressions like "pencil of black lead" -- the graphite came from Borrowdale (Cumbria), and was at first mistaken for a lead ore.
(3) Etymology: Not related to "pen" (Latin penna 'feather').
But related to "penis" (Latin pe:nis 'tail', pe:nicillum 'paint brush').