Novelty Pen

DONT WRITE OFF THE HUMBLE PEN

We’ve all heard the story about the challenge faced by the Americans and the Soviets during the 1960 space race.They were tasked with designing a writing instrument that could work in the gravity-free environment.The NASA engineers spent millions on developing a special ‘astronaut’ pen whilst the Soviets spent nothing, and used a pencil to achieve the same result.
Now why spoil a good story with the truth?It’s unfortunately, only a legend, but it does reveal how important pens and writing instruments are in the course of daily life – even in the stratosphere.  
The true story – according to myth busting website, Snopes.com. the Americans and the Russians both used pencils but found tht the broken leads were a safety hazard as they floated around the capsule. 
Engineer Paul Fisher, founder of the Fisher pen company, realised that the space programme needed something safer and which could work in extreme temperatures.Two years and over a million dollars were needed before he successfully developed the first pressurised metal ball pen.In 1965, he sent some samples to NASA at the Houston Space Centre where they were tested thoroughly. 
Since that time, the Space Pens have been utilised on all US and Russian manned space flights.Contrary to the legend – Fisher didn’t charge the government for development costs – he paid for it all.What he did do however, was sell 400 Fisher Space Pens to NASA for $2.95 each !
Space walkers need pens and so do we.Even with technology advancing, we are still faced with a myriad reasons for pens every day – taking notes, writing down a recipe, signing a document, signing credit card slips.And anyone in the service industry who needs a pen for their job will undoubtedly complain that their pens always go missing!From receptionists to bank clerks, couriers to cleaners, they all fall foul to the plague of disappearing pens.There’s no getting away from it – pens are functional and desirable.
And it’s for those reasons that they’re one of the most popular and widely used promotional products.   Promotional pens are available in many interesting styles and colours, suitable for any budget, and include rollerballs and ballpoints, stick, click and twist pens, markers and highlighters, multifunction, novelty and stylus pens for the digitally inclined. 
Each of these can have the organisation’s name or contact details printed onto it.Pens can also be put into special branded packaging for extra ‘wow’ appeal.
The pens of today are a far cry from the days of Ancient Egypt 3000 years ago, where hollow reeds containing pigment were first used.  Could a scribe, taking a break from painting hieroglyphics, have ever looked up to the heavens and imagined that it was possible for humans to go that far ?And that his writing instrument would be developed and refined to become an essential daily item ?   
Pens could well be on the list of ‘ten most important things to take to a desert island’ which is why promotional pens are such a popular item for branding and marketing purposes.

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