Time for a pop quiz! Let’s all get out our number two pencils! And trust me, you’re going to need a BIG pencil for this one! What? You don’t have a pencil? You can’t find your pencil bag? Your tip broke? You don’t have a pencil sharpener? You lost it? You only have a pen? Well, OK, I think I know where you can get a new pencil. In fact, I know where you can get one with enough lead that you’ll never be in this kind of pickle again. And you definitely won’t ever lose it. OK? OK. Follow me to this big pencil in Wytheville, Virginia!
This sharp Virginia roadside attraction hangs from the Wytheville Office Supply building in Wytheville, Virginia. It is located on 146 West Main Street on a quaint street in this small town. It’s certainly hard to miss! The giant number 2 pencil is colored the signature pencil yellow color and has a super fine tip. So, there’s no need to bring the world’s largest sharpener just yet! (I don’t know if a world’s largest pencil sharpener exists, but there is a record for largest pencil sharpener COLLECTION.)
Conceptualized by John Campbell, the original owner of Wytheville Office Supply, the the big pencil was constructed in the early 1960s. And big it is. This metal pencil is approximately 30 feet long!
The Wytheville pencil was my last stop in Virginia on my road trip through Virginia and North Carolina last summer. And, let me tell you, this Wytheville attraction definitely wasn’t a pointless stop!
While it may not have been the biggest pencil I’ve ever seen (that honor belongs to the big pencil at the City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri) this one is pretty impressive… and it’s a bit more public. You can also find another Big Pencil in Casey, Illinois.
The big pencil is so big it would certainly last you for scantron after scantron. So there’s no excuse for you to flunk your next pop quiz!
Look for this on your next Virginia road trip, and, if you’re looking for other fun things to do in Wytheville VA, look for the big paint can on the roof of a nearby paint store, the Great Lakes to Florida Highway Museum, the Hot Air Balloon Water Tower, and Skeeter’s World Famous Hot Dogs.
Looking for more Virginia Roadside Attractions? Check out the World’s Largest Apple in Winchester.
Big Pencil in Wytheville, Virginia
Location: 146 West Main St., Wytheville, VA
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: Always visible.
Date of Photos: September 2, 2010
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