I don’t know anybody who doesn’t keep at least a couple of Sharpie permanent markers handy. They’re perfect for labelling CD-Rs and DVDs, impromptu X-TreaM tribal tattoos, and fluffing up my Liza Minelli eyebrows. But if you’re anything like me, you end losing the stupid caps or marking all over hands in the process of taking them off, so these new Sharpie Retractables look pretty hot. They’ve invented a slick little folding door that lets you click the tip in and out like a regular pen without getting the tip all dry and useless – Sharpie predicts a shelf-life of around two years.
You can even watch their handy Flash movie if you’d like to learn more, complete with inexplicable Rawk Music loops juxtaposed with weird elementary school narratives done with hand drawn slides and a screeching falsetto. Seriously, it’s nuts.
Product Page [Sharpie]
Psycho Flash Movie [Sharpie]
Update: Reader Mark Siple sends this word of warning:
I noticed you mentioned using Sharpies on CDs. While Sharpie believes their
ink won’t damage CD media, they haven’t done any testing
(http://sharpie.com/sanford/consumer/sharpie/home/faqs.jhtml?faqcode=1200).
Several websites have posted warnings from folks who say Sharpies have
ruined their CDs. Then again, other, perhaps less reputable, websites have
posted stories of using green sharpies to make audio CD sound better!!
I’m not sure who to believe but really want my CDs to be readable years from
now. It’s just not worth taking the chance. Therefore, I only use markers
rated for writing on CDs. I urge others to do the same.
Update Update: Robert Lynch points out these might not be as innovative as you (I) might think
The folding-door trick to keep retractable pens from drying out isn’t
new — Pilot in Japan has sold a fountain pen called the Capless since
some time in the 1960s. Sure enough, it uses a little door to keep
the nib from drying out.
The Pilot Capless has used a twist mechanism as well as a button
mechanism over the years. Here in the U.S., the pen has been sold as
the Namiki (or Pilot) Vanishing Point.
Some more info and pictures are available online:
http://www.riverapens.com/Vanishing_Point_images/index.htm
http://www.pentrace.com/penbase/Data_Returns/full_article.asp?ID=408
