If you ever thought that NASA were a complete waste of money, consider this:

A few decades ago, NASA were in a bit of a sticky situation. They wanted to take down written measurements in the weightlessness of space - but ballpoint pens and fountain pens would not work in space as they are gravity-assisted. So, after millions of dollars worth of research and development, they came up with "the" perfect pen. It could write underwater, upside-down - and, of course, in space. NASA hailed it as a success.

The Russians, meanwhile, used pencils.

Chris"Makes you think"topher