Mechanical pencil applied at an angle. When excess vertical pressure is applied on the lead, the lead is automatically retracted inwards. Higher-end mechanical pencils often feature a lead hardness grade indicator and sometimes feature a retractable lead guide pipe. This allows the lead guide pipe to retract back into the pencil body, which will keep it protected in storage and during transit and makes it 'pocket-safe'. In spite of the name, pencil leads do not contain the toxic chemical element lead, but are typically made with graphite and clay, or plastic polymers. Compared to standard pencils, mechanical pencils have a smaller range
2–0 lead is the worst lead pundit, to suggest that the final result is still in doubt, thereby maintaining audience interest in a game. There is little evidence that 2-0 is the worst lead in practice. In football, a team leading 2-0 at half-time only goes on to lose the game in about 2% of cases. In ice hockey, statistics show that if a team builds a two-goal advantage, they go on to win the game in the majority of instances, and that a one-goal lead is far more dangerous. As a result, the cliché is often used in full knowledge that 2-0 is not in