A closer look
Soviet cosmonauts did not actually just use cheap graphite pencils in space while NASA foolishly spent millions of dollars inventing a zero-gravity ink pen. Both space programs initially used standard pencils, but quickly realized that floating broken graphite tips and flammable wood shavings were a terrifying fire hazard inside a pressurized capsule filled with pure oxygen. A private American company spent their own money independently developing the famous Fisher Space Pen, which uses pressurized nitrogen to push ink out of the cartridge regardless of gravity or temperature. NASA eventually bought the pens for about three dollars each, completely ruining the favorite smug anecdote of every cynical uncle at a dinner party. It is a fantastic example of how people would much rather believe a fake story about government incompetence than acknowledge a brilliant feat of private engineering that prevented astronauts from inhaling pencil dust. So the next time someone tries to tell you that joke, you can delightfully ruin their day with the boring, highly flammable truth
