5 ms·
I can attest to that. When I was a boy my parents gifted me a Cap-O-Matic space pen. It's a fairly generic looking pen with a small space shuttle logo in the m
by GloriousKoji 5y ago
I can attest to that.
When I was a boy my parents gifted me a Cap-O-Matic space pen. It's a fairly generic looking pen with a small space shuttle logo in the middle of it but uses their patented pressurized ink cartridges. Of course like any boy I took it to school to show it off and use it until someone tried to steal it. It was super precious to me at the time so I stored it away in my precious items tin lunch box under my bed. It stat there for a couple of decades, forgotten through time.
Like any well prepared person I keep a pen in the glove box of my car. The problem is they last only a couple of years before they leak or dry out which means they never work when I actually need them. One day I'm back home with my parents and I find my old tin and the Fisher space pen in it. It still worked perfectly and I figured if it's suppose to handle the rigors of space then a car glove box shouldn't be a problem. It wasn't.
After about a decade in the glovebox of my old car it found its way to the glove box of my new car (which I guess is kinda old when compared to a car from today). It still works perfectly.
- mc32 5y agoThat's a pretty awesome story to share. I may have to go find the one I was given many years ago too.
- Johnny555 5y agoThe problem is they last only a couple of years before they leak or dry out which means they never work when I actually need them Of course, the other solution to this problem is just as in the apocryphal story [1] about the origins of the space pen... use a pencil instead. I keep a couple pencils and a $2 sharpener in the car. Of course, there are some situations where a pencil is not ideal (like writing a check), but if you really need to write something, it's always going to work. [1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-n... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-write-stuff/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-write-stuff/
- taneq 5y agoYeah, but... space pen!
- gumby 5y agoI just use my pocket knife to sharpen pencils, but I live where it is legal to carry one.
- eru 5y agoAren't pocket knifes legal in most places? (I assume you mean some swiss army style folding knife?) Most because that kind of folding knife that doesn't lock in place would be less useful in a fight than leaving the knife folded and wrapping your hand around it as a weight.
- irrational 5y agoOther than a place like an airplane, where is it illegal to carry a pocket knife?
- ehvatum 5y agoUK, I imagine.
- agurk 5y agoPenknives are allowed to be carried without needing a justification in the UK. > It’s illegal to [...] carry a knife in public without good reason, unless it has a folding blade with a cutting edge 3 inches long or less [0] It also cannot be locking to not need a good reason to carry it. This is set in case law not the text of the relevant laws (and could could also probably be overturned if anyone had the time, money and inclination to challenge it). [0] https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- nicoburns 5y agoI believe it's legal to carry a pocket knife in the UK. Just not one with a lockable blade.
- mike_d 5y ago> The problem is they last only a couple of years before they leak or dry out Are you not following proper protocol of swapping out for new pens between space missions?