Mechanical Pencil website
Shares rank 15 of 18 reference websites by recommenders
Praised as a beautifully made, unique site explaining hidden engineering in everyday objects. Critics report broken scrolling in Firefox, on desktop and Android.
Praised as a beautifully made, unique site explaining hidden engineering in everyday objects. Critics report broken scrolling in Firefox, on desktop and Android.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Beautifully designed, well-crafted site
“Such a beautifully done site. I might be in love already.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects” Long-term labor of love
“Bryan has been working on this forever! Truly a labor of love.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects” Unique idea
“Looks like a unique idea to me”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects” Strong reaction on reading
“that's what I feel the moment I read the post”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Scrolling breaks in Firefox
“The website works like crap on Android Firefox. Scrolling is borked.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects” “Weird/forced scrolling on FF desktop as well.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Mechanical Pencin: A website about the hidden engineering in everyday objects”
Other reference websites people recommend
The four most recommended other reference websites, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info | 49 | 0 | 100% | 6 | 19 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Animated Knots by Grog | 14 | 1 | 93% | 2 | — | — |
| Ian's Shoelace Site | 10 | 1 | 91% | 4 | — | Approved |
| OEIS | 9 | 1 | 90% | 6 | — | — |
| Mechanical Pencil websiteThis page | 5 | 2 | 71% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Weird/forced scrolling on FF desktop as well.”
“that's what I feel the moment I read the post”
“The website works like crap on Android Firefox. Scrolling is borked.”
“Bryan has been working on this forever! Truly a labor of love.”
“Looks like a unique idea to me”
“Such a beautifully done site. I might be in love already.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.