Fact Number : 1677
During the heat of the space race in the 1960s the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided it needed a ball point 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 about US $1 million. 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.
Amazing, but the American Way!
