It's a funny story, but it's also not true. You don't want pencils in space (not because they don't work, but because you don't want graphite dust everywhere).
A source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-n...
A source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-n...
The US used graphite and paid ridiculous amounts of money for it. The USSR greased pencils or out right crayons instead.
It's okay to be wrong. I distinctly remember believing the (false) pencil story once, before reading more about it and learning the (far more interesting) actual story. And also realizing that the false pencil story pushes certain goals and agendas, too, so probably isn't accidental.