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School starts this week, so let's get off on the right foot - with a lesson about school and school stuff.

Did you know that pencils first came into use about 1560. The first patent for the modern pencil was issued in 1795.

The ballpoint pen was patented in 1938 by Lazlo and George Biro of Hungary.

The first blackboard was used in a school in Philadelphia in 1809.

The first book used in the classroom was the Bible, while the first textbook was the New England Primer, used between 1760 and 1843. The first school desks were set up in rows and bolted to the floor, all facing forward, and New England schoolrooms were lit with whale oil lamps and candles.

The plastic binder was patented in 1933, and the Xerox machine in 1939.

The pocket calculator is a johnny-come-lately, with the first patent being awarded in 1968 to Yukihiro Yoshida.

And, lastly, everybody's favorite - the test.

Tests and quizzes were common in the 1800s, usually given orally at the end of the school day to see how much the students had learned.

The first standard test of any significance was introduced in the 1870s and it was given to rural eighth-graders before they could attend high school.

It took two days to take.

Happy school days, kids.

Fahrenheit 451

"Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't." - Author Julian Barnes, 1986. The Big Read, Attleboro's 1 ABC project, has selected "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury as this year's book for the community to read and discuss. Join us. There are copies of the book everywhere.

August 22, by the way, was Ray Bradbury's birthday. He is 87 and lives in California. Here's a quote from him: "I don't try to describe the future. I try to prevent it."

Thanks for the cuddlers

These were my deceased wife's," writes Bob Wilon in a note with 21 teddy bears. "Please put these to good use."

The bears go the Bears on Board, a program of the Attleboro Area Council for Children.

They are given to local police officers, firefighters and ambulance crews to give to children in crises.

This donation pushes out teddy bear total over 5,000 to 5,016.

Thanks, everyone.

Thanks for the papers

"I've been collecting these forever!" writes Andrea Soucy of Plainville in a note with a stack of papers and magazines from Vermont.

"They should stand as proof that the Northeast Kingdom isn't as bucolic and idyllic as some seem to think."

"Thought you might like to have a couple of newspapers from Bennington, Vt.," write Kay and George Gosselin of Attleboro.

"Had a great time and got to visit our nephew who has just moved to the area with his family. He is the new emergency room doctor at the local hospital. Beautiful little town."

Kay is our receptionist and switchboard operator.

See you next week.

ORESTE P. D'ARCONTE is publisher of The Sun Chronicle and The Siilver City Bulletin. Reach him at 508.236.0394 or at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.

like to read newspapers from across the U.S.A.," writes Rob Schnack. ""Last week my family had a reunion out in Michigan, specifically the town of Omena just north of Traverse city (my brother's family has a farmhouse up there) so I grabbed a couple of day's worth of papers." He notes there was a film festival in Traverse City at the time "and we did see Michael Moore crossing the street as we drove through Traverse City on the way to Omena."

"Just came back from a wonderful five-day trip to Chicago - my first trip there. What a people-froiendly city!" writes Nancy Manning of Attleboro. "I took the architectural boat tour down the river through the city. After that, I was ab;le to recognize many buildings from the top of the Sears Tower. A free trolley system takes you to most of the museums, the aquarium, shopping on the Magnificent Mile and the Navy Pier. Inexpesnive bus service gets you quickly to the zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry. Millenium Park has a pair of founbtains with moving faces on them. One can cool off sdplashing around between them. The gardens were colorful. The bean-shaped Cloud Gate reflects a slightly distorted view of the city and yoiurself - fascinating."

"Here are two Korean newspapers my daughter Jennifer Gitschier and two granddaughters Liz, 12, and Sami, 10, brought back from a six-week stay in South Korea visiting my son-in-law Sgt Stephen Gitschier who is stationed there with the U.S Army," writes Elaine Young of Plainville. "The girls had never flown before. Flying from the United States to South Korea is over 14 hours non-stop. Total flying time is about 18 hours. They had a great trip."

Thanks to Jeff Miller of Riverside, R.I., for a copy of the Townsend (Mass.) Times he brought back from a camping trip.

"Picked up one paper while on vacation in Gordonsville, Va. Got copy of the Hartforfd Courant on way back. The Page 1 story on spam poetry is amusing," writes Peter Noll, a news editor at The Sun Chronicle.

Thanks to Phil and Susan Daniels who brought me back papers from a vacation trip to St. John, New Brunswick.

"Just returned from a trip up the coast of Maine," writes Charles Smith. "Spent a few days enjoying the warm sun and cool ocean breezes at Boothbay. Brought back some newspapers from the state of Maine fer ya."

Thanks to Ted Nesi, one of our reporters, for a copy of The Sun Journal from New Bern, N.C.

ORESTE P. D'ARCONTE is publisher of The Silver City Bulletin and The Sun Chronicle. Reach him at 508.236.0394 or at darconte@thesunchronicle.com.