Friends around the world Recognising this time of the year is notable for the imparting of 'useless knowledge' to those who seek to be informed, I thought the item below might be of passing interest. Over the last week or so, UK TV advertising has seen the promotion of a set of writing tools - among which is a fountain pen which allegedly can be smashed into an empty drinks can without adversely affecting the writing quality of the nib. On the basis of "what goes around, comes around," I thought the following extract from The Autocar of Aug 26, 1932 might amuse:
"If a fountain pen will remain unbroken after being dropped from a height of 900 feet on to concrete, there can be little wrong with the materials used in its manufacture. Such drastic tests were actually caried out at Brooklands the other day when a number of Parker Duofold fountain pens were dropped on to the track from an aeroplane flying at heights between 200 to 900 feet. In all, twelve pens were subjected to this harsh treatment, and without exception were picked up undamaged and, in most cases, without a single scratch." It makes me wonder what damage an Army biscuit (which shattered the rudder of my late father's WW1 Sopwith Camel) might have done if it had landed on the concrete of Brooklands high speed banking from the same altitutde? Jonmac /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
