Calculator Wars at your School

[Garth Wilson]

We're getting off topic, but I'll bite. I grew up in another country, and starting in 2nd grade, kids were required to use fountain pens in the public schools. Neatness was emphasized to the extreme, and I guess they also figured that pencils, which could be erased, encouraged sloppiness rather than extreme care. A friend gave me a fountain pen as gift for 8th-grade graduation, and then we came back to the States in 1974. Unfortunately the ink cartridges available here which fit it were harder to puncture, and the little needle in the pen was damaged. But while it worked, I used it in 9th grade, and I accidentally left it behind in a class, and when someone returned it to me, others had emptied the ink and made an inky mess of it.

It is my understanding that in the early days of ball-point pens, you could use a blob of silly putty to transfer a signature; so only fountain pens were safe to use for certain things. I do remember ball-point pens also skipping.

Today I use mechanical pencils for everything except signing checks and documents. My wife uses the regular pencils that go in the pencil sharpener; but she lets them get super dull. I don't know how she can stand it.

If you look up "fountain pen" on eBay, you'll find lots and lots of different brands.