What device that has 16 pages of specifications, has been in use in the U.S. military since 1968?

[turkeyrun]

1 time

They get it right 1 time, almost 60 years ago.

See, they can get things right from time to time…..

 

[GeneW]

I just reached into my desk drawer and pulled out a box of them I bought a couple 2 or 3 years ago. Even Amazon sells them.

I have 8 left in this box.

Yup, they are darn good pens, especially for the money.

Speaking of good pens, I love the Zebra F301. I used to buy them in a 1 or 2 pack, then I found out Sams carries them in a multi pack. BTW that multipack used to be 11 pens, then 10, and the last pack I bought was 9.

 

[GeneW]

Amazon has them for $15.
Each.
Like for ONE PEN.

Say what? $1.07 each when buying a box of 12. LINK

 

[TerryMiller]

Legally blind, but that doesn't mean totally blind. SSSC (the supply agency and stores for the military) is where we'd have to go to use our gov card for supplies. I asked the manager there about it and he said everyone working in all the SSSCs and LFB, etc, are legally blind including himself just not totally blind.

When I was still wearing glasses, my vision was 20/400 and thus was considered to be "legally" blind. However, the glasses compensated enough that I never really considered myself as such. Those that know that I am a prolific photographer that likes scenic views knows that I sure must have not had any problems with seeing.

When I went in for exams before getting my cataract surgeries, the nurse examining me asked what my vision was at the time. When I told her, she said, "Oh, you are really going to like the outcome of this surgery." (She was right.) After getting my final exam 2 months after surgery, my optometrist reported that my vision after surgery was 20/25, which is what he had originally told me he could correct my vision to prior to the surgery.

 

[O4L]

What are they supposed to do with their heads? Bob and weave like Stevie Wonder?

My bad. I was operating last night on some serious pain stuff.


Oooops, I read it wrong last night.

Industries of the Blind turns out 2.8 million of the pens each year – they cost US$ 72 for 12 dozen – using a team of about 30 workers to assemble them from pre-ordered components. Every person who actually works on the pens is either seriously sight-impaired or is completely blind, said Oliver.

Correction, $2 per pen if'n my math is correct.

It's actually $.50 per pen, but close enough.

That's surprising. I didn't think the government bought anything at a reasonable price.

 

[PBramble]

What are they supposed to do with their heads? Bob and weave like Stevie Wonder?

No, but I dont' see any totally blind people in that picture. Sometimes industries take advantage of programs to get additional funding.

 

[Snattlerake]

No, but I dont' see any totally blind people in that picture. Sometimes industries take advantage of programs to get additional funding.

I typed that last night, recognized the possible repercussions, and thought I deleted it. Sorry for the attitude. Again, pain meds.



I can type in a reply, not hit send, delete the sentence, go to another thread, come back and the typing is back.

 

[gerhard1]

To me, the only real pen is a fountain pen. Ball-points are nothing but writing sticks.

 

[PBramble]

I typed that last night, recognized the possible repercussions, and thought I deleted it. Sorry for the attitude. Again, pain meds.



I can type in a reply, not hit send, delete the sentence, go to another thread, come back and the typing is back.

No worries. No offence taken.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Russians used pencils. Work every time.

The Fisher Space Pen​

​

During the first NASA missions the astronauts used pencils. For Project Gemini, for example, NASA ordered mechanical pencils in 1965 from Tycam Engineering Manufacturing, Inc., in Houston. The fixed price contract purchased 34 units at a total cost of $4,382.50, or $128.89 per unit. That created something of a controversy at the time, as many people believed it was a frivolous expense. NASA backtracked immediately and equipped the astronauts with less costly items. During this time period, Paul C. Fisher of the Fisher Pen Co. designed a ballpoint pen that would operate better in the unique environment of space. His new pen, with a pressurized ink cartridge, functioned in a weightless environment, underwater, in other liquids, and in temperature extremes ranging from -50 F to +400 F. Fisher developed his space pen with no NASA funding. The company reportedly invested about $1 million of its own funds in the effort then patented its product and cornered the market as a result. Fisher offered the pens to NASA in 1965, but, because of the earlier controversy, the agency was hesitant in its approach. In 1967, after rigorous tests, NASA managers agreed to equip the Apollo astronauts with these pens. Media reports indicate that approximately 400 pens were purchased from Fisher at $6 per unit for Project Apollo. The Soviet Union also purchased 100 of the Fisher pens, and 1,000 ink cartridges, in February 1969, for use on its Soyuz space flights. Previously, its cosmonauts had been using grease pencils to write in orbit. Both American astronauts and Soviet/Russian cosmonauts have continued to use these pens. Fisher continues to market his space pens as the writing instrument that went to the Moon and has spun off this effort into a separate corporation, the Fisher Space Pen Co. Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator​