This pencil design was so bizarre, yet it was very effective. You'd have about ten little nodes with pencil lead on them. When you ran out of one, you'd pull it out and put it back in the top, pushing the other ones down, giving you a brand new point to write with. It was a much stronger pencil than the usual mechanical pencil, but if you lost a node then you'd be screwed. The pencil would be useless. It was also a tremendous waste of plastic. Still, we all wanted one of these.
Looking back to when I was a kid, a lot of my time was spent with stationary supplies. Nowadays I barely ever pick up a pencil. No wonder my grip strength is like a baby. I have to step on my tube on toothpaste to get any out.