DEAR SUN SPOTS: I enjoy reading Sun Spots every morning with a good cup of coffee. I would like to know why we cannot find old-fashion No. 2 pencils. The ones they sell now are No. 2 BH. I feel they write quite a bit lighter and are harder to see when doing my crossword puzzles in the Sun Journal.

I am also finding it harder to find Altoids mints. — No name, Auburn

ANSWER: There is nothing better than a well-sharpened No. 2 pencil.

Surprisingly, an HB pencil is the same as an HB2 pencil and as a No. 2 pencil.

For many years, pencils in the United States came in three grades: No. 1 (soft/dark), No. 2 (medium) and No. 3 (hard/light). This was a simplified system, different from the European system, which uses B to indicate softer/darker cores, and H to indicate harder/lighter cores, with the number indicating how B (soft/dark) or H (hard/light) it was on a scale with HB indicating “medium.”

A No. 1 pencil is the equivalent of a 2B, a No. 2 pencil is the equivalent of an HB and a No. 3 pencil is the equivalent of a 2H. To simplify, some pencil companies put both systems on their pencils: HB = No. 2 or 2HB or HB2.

There is no universal industry standard. One company’s B2 is another company’s B, so you will see some pencils that use 2½ to represent their HB, and others will actually use decimals, such as No. 1.8 or No. 2.2.

When buying pencils, look for anything that has HB (HB, 2HB, HB2) or anything close to No. 2.

Rounding up all the pencils around my house, I saw that they all were HB or HB2.

On Altoids mints: Readers, where are you finding yours? I bought them recently at the checkout counter at Walmart. I have also ordered them in bulk from Amazon.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am wondering if anyone has tried any of the mushroom coffee drinks that are sold online. I have tried one that I like, but it seems expensive: $36 a month.

Compared to having coffee or tea from a chain or café every day, it is a good value, but not compared to coffee made at home. I have tried drinking different types of teas, but that does not work for me. I would love to know if other readers have a mushroom coffee brand they like and feel is worth the money. — Lee, no town

ANSWER: We got a question like this a while back and I believe a reader recommended RYZE (www.ryzesuperfoods.com).

If you are committed to drinking mushroom coffee, really spend time doing your research to make sure you are not getting a concoction with lots of fillers. Recommendations from other readers are always welcome and helpful.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am responding regarding the uses for the plastic sleeves for newspapers (Feb. 10 Sun Spots). I save them in one of the sleeves until it is full, and then put it into the delivery box so my carrier can reuse them. I hope this might save him a little money and help the environment. — No name, no town

ANSWER: I think that is the best solution. Using the bags more than once certainly makes sense.

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