Pencil economics and the Mongol

In Episode 193 of the Pen Addict Brad and Myke mentioned a recent Freakonomics Radio [1]Depsite the name it is a podcast. episode called Who Needs Handwriting?.

I read the Freakonomics book a few years ago. Funnily enough I got it from a friend who I got to know through this blog after posting about a Mongol sharpened with an angle of 14° [2]It’s funny because in the next sentence there’ll be a connection back to the Mongol..

Well, the next episode of Freakonomics Radio looked at “I, Pencil”, the famous economics essay about the Mongol 482. Just like in the previous episode Caroline Weaver from CW Pencils was involved [3]…and to my surprise she says her shop is profitable, which I wouldn’t have expected thinking about how expensive rent in New York must be, as well as flying around the world to the … Continue reading.

Venezuelan Mongols
Ok, it’s not the 482, but the 480, but the Mongol 482 photos from my blog look less suitable for this blog post than this one does. 

One of the best bits of this episode is Tim Harford’s appearance. He’s the guy behind the Radio 4 Programme More or Less, looking at numbers and statistics in the news and everyday life. I listen to every episode of his great programme.

There’s also a great part about the General Pencil Company and how they make their pencils.


Funnily enough the photo of the I, Pencil Freakonomics Radio episode doesn’t feature a Mongol, but the good, old Noris!

 

References

References
1 Depsite the name it is a podcast.
2 It’s funny because in the next sentence there’ll be a connection back to the Mongol.
3 …and to my surprise she says her shop is profitable, which I wouldn’t have expected thinking about how expensive rent in New York must be, as well as flying around the world to the different trade fairs.

1 thought on “Pencil economics and the Mongol”

  1. So how can we buy them from Colombia? The Philippines pencils are terrific, but I can’t find a way to buy any more of them.

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