It’s officially summer, the season for air conditioners, sun burn and vacations. Tired of the same old Grand Canyon, Disney World and various water activities? While doing research for my theses on “cheeseburgers as an alternate source of energy” I came across this destination. 
Thanks right, it’s the Cumberland Pencil Museum. Talk about your exotic destinations! I would wager that out of all the 6 or 7 people that read this blog, not one person even knows someone who has been to the Cumberland Pencil Museum.
One of the highlights is the worlds largest colored pencil. For $7.50 I will show it to you. OK here it is. 
Here is the pitch: “Join us in celebrating 175 years of pencil making here in Keswick in the heart of the Lake District. Enter the museum through a replica of the Seathwaite Mine, where graphite was first discovered, journey through the history of pencil making, marvel at the world’s longest pencil and finally relax in our coffee shop while the kids follow the quiz trail and express their creativity in the Drawing Zone. “
So there you have it. Put this one on your bucket list.
Oh, you are so cruel. You get my interests up. I start to get animated, thinking, ‘Cumberland is only about a 9 hour drive from here!’ And then I click the link and find that it is Cumberland in England. Oh, my heart.
It was the legless mannequin in a hole discovering graphite that got you, wasn’t it?
Although it is almost related to your comment, this may be of no interest, but too bad. My grandfather was a tin miner in Cornwall. Until he fell down the shaft and his leg got caught on a cross-beam, breaking his fall and his leg (he wore a leg brace the rest of his life). Then he drove a grocers wagon, until the cart, merchandise, and the horse were lost in a barn fire. He took that as a good time to get out of Dodge (Cornwall) and he and family moved to the other side of The Pond.
Ahhh, THAT explains your fear of canned goods.
I just went to the Pencil Museum yesterday. Here are some photos I took: http://web.me.com/oasisob1/Site/The_Cumberland_Pencil_Museum.html