Essentially, it’s an unintentional stick-and-poke tattoo. It’s also not harmful, since pencils these days are made with graphite, not lead.⁠ The only potential risk from a pencil stab is the wound caused by the stabbing itself.⁠ “A pencil is a dirty object, so you’re puncturing the skin with a dirty object, so you could potentially get a bacterial infection,” said Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, an associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.⁠ ⁠ Like a regular tattoo, a pencil tattoo will fade a bit over time, but it can still be noticeable for decades. Also, like a tattoo, Rokhsar said the mark can be removed with laser treatment or cut out.⁠ With that mystery solved, the only question remaining is why so many kids are stabbing each other with pencils.⁠ ⁠ _____⁠ ⁠ #pencil #mark #graphite #particles #biology #science