> The soviet union used pencils. While our government wasted hundreds of
> thousands of dollars developing a pen that works in zero-G, the soviets brought pencils.
Oh please. This is a classic example of distorting facts to make some blurb used in management meetings to emphasize the point of thinking outside the box.
One, the Fisher Space Pen, as it is called was not commissioned by NASA. Paul Fisher, on his own initiative, designed the space pen. Why? He realized that pencils are combustible and if they break, that leaves small particles of graphite floating around in the capsule. Not too good for the eyes or the instrumentation. NASA in no way paid millions of dollars to create this pen.
And if you don't believe me, check out
Snopes.com