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On 23 Jun 2006, at 11:14 AM, A. Pagaltzis wrote: > You know the clich=E9d anecdote about how the US space programme > spent millions of dollars creating a pen that can write upside > down and underwater when they discovered that normals pens don't > work in zero G, and the Russians just used pencils? Yes, but... The lesson of this anecdote is a valid one, that we sometimes expend a great deal of time, effort, and money to create a "high-tech" solution to a problem, when a perfectly good, cheap, and simple solution is right before our eyes. The anecdote offered above isn't a real example of this syndrome, however. Fisher did ultimately develop a pressurized pen for use by NASA astronauts (now known as the famous "Fisher Space Pen"), but both American and Soviet space missions initially used pencils, NASA did not seek out Fisher and ask them to develop a "space pen," Fisher did not charge NASA for the cost of developing the pen, and the Fisher pen was eventually used by both American and Soviet astronauts. http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp But by all means don't let that get in your way. --=20 Chris Devers=There's stuff above here
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