From: mshaw@bangnetcom.com   
      
   Lewis  wrote:   
   > Okay, so one time? In band camp? Mark Shaw  was all,   
   like:   
      
   > > "During the heat of the space race in the 1960s, the US National   
   > > Aeronautics and Space Administration decided it needed a ballpoint   
   > > pen to write in the zero gravity confines of its space capsules.   
   > > After considerable research and development, the Astronaut Pen was   
   > > developed at a cost of approximately $1 million US.   
      
   > This is not true.   
      
   Yep.   
      
   > > The pen worked and also enjoyed some modest success as a novelty item   
   > > back here on earth. The Soviet Union, faced with the same problem,   
   > > used a pencil."   
      
   > This is also not true. The pen, which was not developed by NASA but was   
   > rather given to them by, IIRC, Parker, was also used by the soviets   
   > because pencils contain graphite and graphite in a zero-G environment is   
   > rather dangerous.   
      
   Yep.   
      
   > >   - from Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier   
      
   > So, a load of rubbish lacking any research.   
      
   Yep.   
      
   NdeGT is still a cool dude. But he bit the tadpole on this one.   
      
   --   
   Mark "not really getting the 'in band camp' meme, but whatevs" Shaw   
   ========================================================================   
   "To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high   
   attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe   
   of heaven."                  -Chuang Tzu (probably mistranslated)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)