# Really tiny pencils **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060 "2022-06-12T02:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/1 "2022-06-12T02:14:47Z")
Anyone remember these? Decades ago Time and Newsweek magazines would include a subscription card you could remove, fill out and mail. At one point they would also include a really tiny pencil, about three inches long and **very** slender- no more than about 1/16" thick. Small, cheap, good enough to fill out the subscription card. Can you even still get these micro-pencils anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/2 "2022-06-12T02:28:11Z")
> **[Amazon.com: Dollhouse Miniature Pencils, 6 Pack : Toys & Games](https://www.amazon.com/Dollhouse-Miniature-Pencils-6-Pack/dp/B0831S52B9)** > > Buy Dollhouse Miniature Pencils, 6 Pack: Dollhouse Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/3 "2022-06-12T02:32:24Z")
As seen above, they’re available from novelty/promotion companies. You might have to try several different search terms, though : miniature pencil, slim pencil, thin pencil, novelty pencil, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/4 "2022-06-12T02:34:51Z")
Those appear to be props rather than working pencils. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/5 "2022-06-12T02:38:26Z")
I remember those micro-pencils! I had a collection of them. (Alas, long-gone now. IIRC I actually used them.) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/6 "2022-06-12T02:40:36Z")
I did find individual original pencils sold as collector’s items, but not new ones. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/8464/8094699822_49bd5f4612_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/8464/8094699822_49bd5f4612_b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/7 "2022-06-12T04:25:12Z")
I remember those from the magazine. I can’t remember what, but letters asking for some kind of donation would have those in them with a card to return. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/8 "2022-06-12T10:25:46Z")
I used to see something like these in cheapo catalogue shops (presumably all now redundant as business has moved online), and I think they were around in betting shops, but not promotionally branded (maybe just full-size cut in half?) I can’t remember if they were also put out in election polling stations, or whether those were regular sized. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/9 "2022-06-12T17:48:04Z")
I don’t think those are the ones the OP was asking about. The OP was about the small, very thin promotional pencils – much thinner than an ordinary pencil. These other ones were the same diameter as regular pencils, but only about 3-4" long, come pre-sharpened, and with no eraser on the end. I used to buy these for use in voting at political conventions. (Also used in golf courses , betting shops and church pews.) Sell for about a nickel 5¢ each. Typically called “golf pencils”. [Here’s an example of them](https://www.shoplet.com/Universal-Golf-amp-Pew-Pencil/UNV24264/spdv) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/10 "2022-06-12T22:23:45Z")
I kept a bunch of golf pencils in my classroom, for use by students who forgot or lost their writing implement. I figure that a student who needs one for my class is going to need it for the rest of the day, so they should be cheap enough that they don’t need to return it at the end of class. And also, by being an inferior pencil, there’s still an incentive for them to remember their own. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/11 "2022-06-12T22:31:52Z")
I remember the tiny pencils used to fill out golf scorecards, which were however of the same width as full-length pencils. You’d think that digital scoring would have largely eliminated the need for those pencils, though the manual scorecard still exists, at least for PGA events and determining handicaps. > **[How to Fill out a Golf Scorecard](https://golftips.golfweek.usatoday.com/fill-out-golf-scorecard-1910.html)** > > How to Fill out a Golf Scorecard. Filling out a scorecard incorrectly in professional golf results in a disqualification for the guilty player, but there are no such worries for the average everyday golfer. Beginners should focus on using their... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/12 "2022-06-13T00:08:28Z")
That link calls them “Golf and Pew Pencils.” So are they suggesting they’re used in churches? If so, how? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/13 "2022-06-13T00:13:16Z")
I don’t know about other churches, but in mine, they’re mostly used for filling out an amount on that envelope that you send in pledging your support of such-and-such an amount for the church or diocese. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/14 "2022-06-13T00:15:21Z")
OK, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/15 "2022-06-13T00:23:31Z")
I grew up (a long time ago!) in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. Back then, if you wanted to take communion the following week (of course you were there every week), you filled out the card and possibly arranged an “interview” with the pastor. I don’t know what happened if someone came up for communion without preregistering. A more recent usage I’ve seen in that church is for visitors to indicate attendance. Sometimes that status was sent back to your home church to maintain your good standing there - “why did you miss church this week?” type of thing. Currently it’s a request for new attendees who want information on joining the church, or for prayer requests or chaplain visits for people in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-tiny-pencils/966060/16 "2022-06-13T14:52:51Z")
Yeah, the pencils serve a bunch of miscellaneous functions in church. Another one not listed is to give toddlers something to scribble on the bulletins with when their parents forgot to pick up the crayons and coloring puzzle at the entrance.