Small Thing Big Idea
Caroline Weaver: Why the pencil is perfect
卡羅琳韋弗: 為什麼鉛筆很完美
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為什麼鉛筆是六角形的？那代表性的黃色又是怎麼來的？鉛筆店店長卡羅琳韋弗帶我們去了解鉛筆的迷人歷史。
Caroline Weaver - Author, pencil store owner
Caroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City. Full bio
Caroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
The sound is a really big part, I think,
of the experience of using a pencil,
of the experience of using a pencil,
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我認為，在用鉛筆的體驗中，
聲音是很重要的一部分，
聲音是很重要的一部分，
00:15
and it has this really
audible scratchiness.
audible scratchiness.
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它的刮擦聲是能清楚聽見的。
00:19
(Scratching)
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（刮擦聲）
00:22
[Small thing. Big idea.]
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〔小東西。大點子。〕
00:25
[Caroline Weaver on
the Pencil]
the Pencil]
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〔卡羅琳韋弗談鉛筆〕
00:28
The pencil is a very simple object.
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鉛筆是樣很簡單的東西。
00:30
It's made of wood
with some layers of paint
with some layers of paint
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它是木製的，加上幾層的塗料、
00:33
an eraser and a core,
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一個橡皮擦、和一條芯，
00:34
which is made out of graphite,
clay and water.
clay and water.
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芯是用石墨、黏土，及水做成的。
00:37
Yeah, it took hundreds
of people over centuries
of people over centuries
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但，花了數百人數世紀的時間，
00:39
to come to this design.
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才提出這個設計。
00:41
And it's that long history
of collaboration
of collaboration
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對我來說，正是這漫長的合作史
00:44
that, to me, makes it
a very perfect object.
a very perfect object.
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讓鉛筆成為非常完美的物品。
00:48
The story of the pencil
starts with graphite.
starts with graphite.
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鉛筆的故事始於石墨。
00:50
People started finding
really useful applications
really useful applications
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人們開始發現這種新物質
00:53
for this new substance.
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有些很有用的應用。
00:54
They cut it into small sticks
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他們把石墨切成小條狀，
00:57
and wrapped it in string
or sheepskin or paper
or sheepskin or paper
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用繩子、羊皮，或紙張包起來，
00:59
and sold it on the streets of London
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在倫敦街頭販售，
01:01
to be used for writing or for drawing
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用來寫字或是繪圖，
01:03
or, a lot of times,
by farmers and shepherds,
by farmers and shepherds,
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很多時候也會被農夫和牧人
01:06
who used it to mark their animals.
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用來標記他們的動物。
01:08
Over in France,
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在法國，
01:09
Nicolas-Jacques Conté figured out a method
of grinding the graphite,
of grinding the graphite,
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尼古拉斯雅克康特想出了
一種方式來磨石墨，
一種方式來磨石墨，
01:13
mixing it with powdered clay
and water to make a paste.
and water to make a paste.
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把它和粉狀黏土及水
混合，做成膏狀。
混合，做成膏狀。
01:16
From there, this paste was filled
into a mold and fired in a kiln,
into a mold and fired in a kiln,
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接著，這膏狀物會被
填入模具中做窯燒，
填入模具中做窯燒，
01:19
and the result was
a really strong graphite core
a really strong graphite core
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結果會產出非常堅硬的石墨芯，
01:22
that wasn't breakable,
that was smooth, usable --
that was smooth, usable --
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它不會斷，很滑順，很好用──
01:25
it was so much better than anything else
that existed at the time,
that existed at the time,
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在那個時候，它比其他
所有既有的東西都好很多，
所有既有的東西都好很多，
01:29
and to this day, that's the method
that's still used in making pencils.
that's still used in making pencils.
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至今，鉛筆仍是用這個方式製造的。
01:33
Meanwhile, over in America,
in Concord, Massachusetts,
in Concord, Massachusetts,
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在這期間，在美國
馬薩諸塞州的康科特，
馬薩諸塞州的康科特，
01:36
it was Henry David Thoreau
who came up with the grading scale
who came up with the grading scale
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亨利大衛梭羅想出了鉛筆的
01:39
for different hardnesses of pencil.
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軟硬度要有分級標準。
01:41
It was graded one through four,
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分級從一到四，
01:43
number two being the ideal
hardness for general use.
hardness for general use.
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第二級是最適合一般用途的軟硬度。
01:47
The softer the pencil,
the more graphite it had in it,
the more graphite it had in it,
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越軟的鉛筆裡面就有越多的石墨，
01:49
and the darker and smoother
the line will be.
the line will be.
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畫出來的線會更黑也更滑順。
01:53
The firmer the pencil,
the more clay it had in it
the more clay it had in it
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越硬的鉛筆裡面有越多的泥土，
01:55
and the lighter and finer it will be.
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線條會越淡且越精細。
01:58
Originally, when pencils were handmade,
they were made round.
they were made round.
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最初，鉛筆是手工製的，
它們被做成圓形。
它們被做成圓形。
02:01
There was no easy way to make them,
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沒有簡單的製造方式，
02:03
and it was the Americans
who really mechanized the craft.
who really mechanized the craft.
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是美國人將這項工藝機械化的。
02:06
A lot of people credit Joseph Dixon
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許多人認為約瑟迪克森是
02:08
for being one of the first people
to start developing actual machines
to start developing actual machines
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最先開始發展機器製造的人之一，
02:12
to do things like cut wood slats,
cut grooves into the wood,
cut grooves into the wood,
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機器可以切木板條、
在木頭上切出溝條、
在木頭上切出溝條、
02:16
apply glue to them ...
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在它們上面上膠……
02:17
And they figured out
it was easier and less wasteful
it was easier and less wasteful
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他們發現，做六角狀的鉛筆比較容易
02:20
to do a hexagonal pencil,
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也比較不浪費，
02:22
and so that became the standard.
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所以六角狀就成了標準。
02:24
Since the early days of pencils,
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在鉛筆的早期，
02:26
people have loved that they can be erased.
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人們很喜愛它可以被擦掉的特性。
02:29
Originally, it was bread crumbs
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最早，是用麵包屑
02:31
that were used
to scratch away pencil marks
to scratch away pencil marks
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來把鉛筆畫出的痕跡給刮掉，
02:33
and later, rubber and pumice.
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後來，改用橡膠和輕石。
02:35
The attached eraser happened in 1858,
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1858 年開始把橡皮擦附在鉛筆上，
02:38
when American stationer
Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil
Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil
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那年，美國的文具商海門利普曼
為第一枝附橡皮擦的鉛筆取得專利，
02:42
with an attached eraser,
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02:44
which really changed the pencil game.
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這真的改變了鉛筆的賽局。
02:46
The world's first yellow pencil
was the KOH-I-NOOR 1500.
was the KOH-I-NOOR 1500.
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世界上第一枝黃色鉛筆是
KOH-I-NOOR 1500。
KOH-I-NOOR 1500。
02:50
KOH-I-NOOR did this crazy thing
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KOH-I-NOOR 做了件瘋狂的事，
02:51
where they painted this pencil
with 14 coats of yellow paint
with 14 coats of yellow paint
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他們把鉛筆塗上了十四層的黃顏料，
02:54
and dipped the end in 14-carat gold.
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把末端浸在 14K 金中。
02:57
There is a pencil for everyone,
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每個人都有一枝鉛筆，
02:59
and every pencil has a story.
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每枝鉛筆都有一個故事。
03:02
The Blackwing 602 is famous
for being used by a lot of writers,
for being used by a lot of writers,
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Blackwing 602 因為
被很多作家使用而聞名，
被很多作家使用而聞名，
03:06
especially John Steinbeck
and Vladimir Nabokov.
and Vladimir Nabokov.
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特別是約翰史坦貝克
與弗拉基米爾納博科夫。
與弗拉基米爾納博科夫。
03:09
And then, you have
the Dixon pencil company.
the Dixon pencil company.
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接著，還有鉛筆公司 Dixon。
03:12
They're responsible
for the Dixon Ticonderoga.
for the Dixon Ticonderoga.
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Dixon Ticonderoga 是他們的產品。
03:15
It's an icon,
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它很有代表性，
03:16
it's what people think of
when they think of a pencil
when they think of a pencil
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當人們想到鉛筆時就會想到它，
03:18
and what they think of
when they think of school.
when they think of school.
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當他們想到學校時也會想到它。
03:21
And the pencil's really
a thing that, I think,
a thing that, I think,
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我認為，其實鉛筆這個東西，
03:23
the average user
has never thought twice about,
has never thought twice about,
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一般使用者不會去多想它的製造方式，
03:25
how it's made or why it's made
the way it is,
the way it is,
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以及為何要把鉛筆做成這個樣子，
03:28
because it's just always been that way.
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因為鉛筆一直就是這樣的。
03:31
In my opinion, there's nothing
that can be done
that can be done
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在我看來，已經沒辦法能把
03:33
to make the pencil better than it is.
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鉛筆做得比現在更好了。
03:36
It's perfect.
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它很完美。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Caroline Weaver - Author, pencil store ownerCaroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City.
Why you should listen
Grown from a lifelong interest and opened in 2015, Caroline Weaver's shop has garnered the attention of the New York Times, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and many other publications for its faithful dedication single object and its playful design. Weaver is also the author of The Pencil Perfect: the Untold Story of a Cultural Icon, a book on pencil history published by Gestalten in 2017.
Caroline Weaver | Speaker | TED.com