h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nice entry. Since you didn't mention the Urban Legend, I will do so here. The Fisher Space Pen is the subject of one of the myriad urban legends out there ridiculing government spending. As the story goes, NASA spent 1.5 million dollars developing a pen that could write in space. The Russians used ordinary pencils.

In the real world, both nations used ordinary pencils in space. NASA bought a bunch of space pen, at the ordinary price, since pencil shavings are not good to have floating around in a space craft. The 1.5 million dollars was spent by Fisher developing the pen.

But you all read http://www.snopes.com and knew that, right?

Like many of the inventions NASA didn't have a hand in, you mean?

(Teflon, Velcro, Sony Walkman [TBC]...)

drat - you beat me to it, naita!

but anyway, great little article!

Actually I read somewhere that the pen was semi-commissioned, as a lead broke in space and nearly blinded an astronaut. Hence the necessity for a pen that would work above ground.