Re: Phoneme winnowing continues

HT = Henrik Theiling
JC = John Cowan

HT> 'Fountain pen' sounds dangerous for clothes.  What is it?

http://www.cross.com/prod_listing.asp?dept=28

Instead of a ball (which slides up into a progressively wider cylinder
as you apply pressure, allowing the ink to flow around it), a fountain
pen  has a flat metal nib that is split down the middle.  As you apply
pressure the two halves of the nib spread apart to allow more ink to flow
onto the paper.

HT> And what's its operative range? :-)

JC> Only a few mm.

Eh, a good pen will hit a target a half-meter away. :)  I'm not sure why
they have the ink-squirting feature, though; perhaps forcing the
ink out helps clean the cylinder?

JC> It was the main writing technology between the abandonment
JC> of the quill and the prevalence of the ballpoint.

Though fountain pens have largely been replaced by ballpoint and
felt-tip pens, they are still in use.  I know several people who
prefer them, and the President uses one to sign bills into law.
The shape of the strokes is distinctive (many would say more
elegant), and it's considered a mark of class to be able to use one,
since it requires a small amount of skill to avoid making a mess
(hence Charlie Brown's struggles in the Peanuts strip).

-Mark

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