[Vermont Lt]

Ok, we need to have this conversation again.

Yes, that seems to make sense. Use Pencils.

But what do pencils do? They create dust particles. Those particles float around.

If you are in a small, enclosed space for a long time the last thing you need to do is generate metallic dust floating around getting into everything.

And if that metallic dust gets into your electronics...and it causes a spark or a circuit to blow then you can have some really bad problems.

So, I am not justifying the expense of more than a few cents on a pen...but it could be dangerous to fly around the globe for any amount of time using just pencils.

[oh8eleven]

it could be dangerous to fly around the globe for any amount of time using just pencils.
Not as dangerous as using O-rings from Morton Thiokol.

[Paul R.]

Heh, pencils don’t create “metal” dust, but, graphite dust in a spacecraft is almost as bad...