Take the Pen!
I am busy working on some other sites as well as having a bit of a writers block with this article I am compiling on the future of online advertising. I know what I want to say but reading Steve Pavlina’s recent post about writing quality articles has made me over analyze some of what I am writing. Either way the article will be published soon and I think it’s a great editorial piece on how advertising is going to change and why it’s here to stay.
Now on to taking the pen. I was recently watching Seinfeld, as any normal human being does 2-3 times a day, and was quite entertained by the Take the Pen piece. So entertained that I began searching for the Astronaut pen that Jerry was enamoured with during the show. I came across the original Zero Gravity Pen over at allwrite.nl. It’s the pen the was designed and patented in 1965 by Paul C. Fisher. It was then used in 1967 on the Apollo 7 Mission after extensive NASA testing.
Now that right there could be a Seinfeld skit in itself. Why would you need extensive testing to see if a pen worked. If you don’t have anything that works at the time why not take the pen into space and test it there. Couldn’t it be used right away if there was even a thought of it working. I’m mean really?
So the pen got me thinking as to how big a time saver it could be. The premise in the show was that while lying in bed you could now write longer with your head facing up at the ceiling rather than sitting upright. Does anyone ever write like this, have you ever tried? Well take it from me it’s not comfortable. I guess that could have been the joke?
My conclusion on the space pen is that the chances of it saving you time are slim to none. However, if you need a $125 novelty gift for your next office gift exchange, first invite me, then buy the pen.