This is the first direction my brain went on this strip after seeing the expressions on these two people’s faces, the pencils the woman is holding, and the fact that both characters have black dust on their faces. The latter is arguably intended to be shadows or a way to show texture or some sort of artsy shading I don’t know the name for rather than graphite dust, but…she’s totally holding pencils.
I originally had the guy going on about the metal thing, about how it separated erasure from creation and was therefore a metaphor for the separation between life and death, and how we don’t know what it’s called because we don’t understand. But that ended up being too distracting and didn’t really add anything.
MRS. SHOEBOX’S ASSESSMENT OF TODAY’S STRIP: Actually, the Number 2 on the pencil is a measure of its hardness. The Number 2 is an HB pencil, and because it makes a good solid mark and is also easy to fully erase, it was selected as the standard pencil to be used in Scantron tests. They actually did studies on this. What? Oh. Yes, the strip’s amusing.
Things I did when researching for this strip:
- Looked up the proper spelling of “coworkers.” Apparently both “coworkers” and “co-workers” are acceptable.
- Attempted to find a description, or at least a suggestion, of the actual effects of snorting graphite. Several people have asked questions about this online, and I’m unsure how much this should frighten me. My research suggests that the most common effects would be illness (potentially pneumonia) and black boogers.
- Attempted to verify my wife’s description of pencil number ratings, but accidentally typed in “penil number ratings.” Google’s attempt to correct this spelling was unhelpful, at best.
- Deliberately didn’t look up the name of the metal thing that holds the eraser on. I’ve gone thirty-six years without this information, and I’m perfectly happy with this. Life needs a little mystery.
-=ShoEboX=-
Ferrule. Ferrule, ferrule, FERRULE! Ah hah hah hah haaaaaaah!
Mine is an evil laugh…
Please tell Mrs. S that a No. 2 pencil is a 2H, which is two grades harder than HB. Thank you for participating. Your DNA will be entered in our database.
“Please tell Mrs. S that a No. 2 pencil is a 2H, which is two grades harder than HB.”
And why should he give Mrs. S that incorrect information. Are you trying to get the man mocked or worse? (After several years of training in architecture, I have it on quite good authority that Mrs. S is correct.)
For what it’s worth, I always prefer “cow-orkers.”
I see a piece of art like this, and I wonder what it could possibly be used for. In what world and in what situation would someone need a piece of art this piece of art? It looks like Molly Ringwald wearing a football mouth guard and dancing with pencils in front of a middle-aged guy mid-aneurysm.
Now I want to invent a place (aside from this comic) in which that piece of art would not only be possible, but preferred or necessary.
Graphite is pretty harmless. Breathing any fine dust can cause lung problems, but it would be difficult to get pencil dust fine enough and you’d have to breathe it for a long time. I’ve worked in a coal mine and black boogers is an occupational hazard – but at least the coal dust in the booger didn’t make it to your lungs, it’s the black plegm you cough up that’s worrying.
The #2 pencil grade is an American thing. Every other place in the world uses the 9B – B, HB, H, – 9H system, so yeah it is a screwed up numbering system – and of course #2 is HB
I don’t know anything about snorting graphite, but HB indicates ‘Hard Black’ in pencil grading. It’s between the H and B grades, like you’d expect. (Old people like me who learned drafting before CAD know this stuff.) For more than you’d ever want to know about pencils, see Henry Petroski’s “The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance”. Which is actually a much more interesting book than you’d expect.
The people in the strip look like they’ve given themselves lobotomies with those pencils. They frighten me.
2B or not 2B. Wait what was the question?
My first take on the picture was “After the office margarita night” but that vein has been covered in other strips already.
I always say ‘cow-orkers’ thanks to Dilbert.
SEems to me graphite is too close to coal for comfort..
this picture is bloody hilarious, I just wish I’d noticed the pencils instead of thinking she was holding scissors.
“Coworkers” is indeed a confusing word. As a friend of mine demonstrates here:
http://www.zazzle.com/the_cow_orca_shirt-235575141816008092
Norris’ DNA ha been deleted from our database.
Carry on.