These were just sent to me in an email and I thought they were funny. But please don't shoot the poster. It doesn't mean I agree or disagree.

1- Zero Gravity

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, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. - The Russians used a pencil.

2 - Our Constitution

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

3 - Ten Commandments

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is that you cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit

Adultery," and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians; it creates a hostile work environment!

LOL

4) Why do we continue to embargo Cuba while we essentially kiss the A$$ of China? Who is the bigger nuclear Socialist threat and human rights violator?

5) Why can't George Bush learn to correctly pronounce "nuclear"?

1) Why didn't they just use pencils. They cost far less than 12 billion.

2) Our 12 page constitution lacks the frequent reference to camels, fleas, and virgins required for an Islamic Republic, so Mullahs, Generals, and Lawyers wrote a new 25 page one for Iraq.

3) The Ten Commandments: lawyers, preachers, judges and politicians can't seem to live with them, can't seem to live without them.

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp 

"Fisher did ultimately develop a pressurized pen for use by NASA astronauts (now known as the famous "Fisher Space Pen"), but both American and Soviet space missions initially used pencils, NASA did not seek out Fisher and ask them to develop a "space pen," Fisher did not charge NASA for the cost of developing the pen, and the Fisher pen was eventually used by both American and Soviet astronauts."

Funny... but you should know that #1 is an urban legend. The US and Russia both used pencils, until Fisher designed the famous Fisher Space Pen (at NO cost to NASA). Fisher spent over a million dollars (not $12 billion) of their own money perfecting the pen. NASA approved it, and bought 400 pens at $2.95 each (around $1200.00 total). Russia also began using the Fisher Space Pen about the same time.

Just a little FYI... 🙂

Hey... wjmiskelly beat me to it!

I thought it was because the pencil sharpener R&D was going to cost 20 million!

LadyHay

#1 was a seinfeld episode.

#2 i wish i had said that.

#3 true, true.

Why did NASA need 400 pens? I'd love to know how many were actually used in space.

hehehe

that's good!