I Think the Phrase Is
…”Bazinga!”
Source: tumblr.com via Tom on Pinterest
And just one more:
When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity.
To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300° C.
The Russians use a pencil.
Fun | tree hugging sister | 
April 1, 2012 9:31 am
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Yeah, it’s amazing how we can find problems that don’t exist, huh?
“The Russians use a pencil.”
Making espionage against them as simple as an eraser.
Like crabgrass, some things just keep coming up.
As an aside, it’s interesting to note that inflation isn’t limited to the real world, but turning hundreds of thousands into $1.5 million into $12 billion would be a stretch even for Ben Bernanke.
The costs and research time seems to get bigger and bigger with the telling.
Of course, this story is not completely true. NASA used pencils too, but broken leads and wood shavings were realized to be very bad in zero G because they could float around and get stuck in things like eyeballs. Also, the wood and lead were not good for the pure oxygen environment.
I believe the real cost to the pen company was about a million dollars. The entire Mercury project only cost $1.6 billion.
Geek joke, guys.
Don’t overthink it.
Hey, not overthinnking things is my specialty.
What aelfheld said… and it’s still funny. And still makes an excellent point, truth (or non) to the story aside.
I first heard that one back when it was actually ‘timely’. Thanks for the nostalgic chuckle.
P.S. Happy April Fool’s day. 😉
Probably a mechanical pencil…
I love that kitty!
It took NASA ten years because my (former consultant) grandfather messes with everything. Nowadays, it’s his hearing aids. (I’ll have to ask him if he knows that story.)