Perhaps some of you may be wondering, what's behind the title. It sounds kinda random.

Actually it probably is. If you deem the following urban legend as random.

During the Cold War, the United States and Russia occupied themselves with the Space Race, trying to compete with each other to see who would venture furthest beyond anywhere humans have every reach, or reach there the fastest. So it was natural that both parties invented rockets to send their astronauts into space.

As we are physicists we know that in space there is zero gravity. Or zero apparent gravity, to be more specific, as there is merely an equilbrium of gravitational force. We also know that pens work on the flow of liquid onto paper, and the flow of liquid needs gravity. But there is no gravity in space. How are the great astronauts, pioneers and adventurers (provided the rocket does not explode or break apart), going to take down notes of their historic journeys into space? This problem puzzled both parties greatly.

The engineers (at Fisher Space Pen Company) pondered over this difficulty over and over again, and one of them came up with a brilliant idea. They could invent a pen which could withstand zero gravity by making the ballpoint with tungsten carbide which is precisely fitted to prevent leaks, and the ink is forced by compressed air. The company then brought the pen to NASA who eventually judged that despite the exorbitant costs required to produce the pen, it is probably a worthwhile investment. So millions and millions of dollars were pumped in to manufacture and refine this pen, eventually leading to a model which astronauts used.

The catch: Russia faced a similar problem. The universe is impartial, its problems are imposed on everyone. But Russia used an entirely different solution. They used a pencil.

My keyboard rests at 9:15 PM