Among the many urban legends whose origins are unknown but which has made a profound impression in my life includes the supposed search by NASA for the best ballpen or fountain pen that can write in space.  Being scientists of the highest caliber, they knew that on earth, ink flows out of pen by gravity- and that  is not so in zero gravity in space. So what do they try to do? Create a pen that works in zero gravity. After so many prototypes failed, one newcomer of average IQ came out with a pencil; no ink, no gravity needed, something that works all the time. Reminds me of the notion that the most complex of problems can be solved by the simplest of solutions, in this case, the pencil solution.

Another profound challenge for me as a tennis player for the past  32 years is that I have to keep on re-tying my shoe laces at least 4 or 5 times during a game. I’ve searched for and tried different shoe laces, some very creative, some just downright expensively ineffective. Until I came across the pencil solution for tying shoe laces.

There is also the relatively unknown advantage of eating fruits on an empty stomach rather than the common practice of eating it as dessert at the end of the meal.  This “different” way of fruit-eating was popularized by “diets” such as Fit for Life. But the science that supports the different way is correct and the effect is immediate.

Last but not least is a better way of breathing. Instead of drowning ourselves in oxygen, there is also undeniable scientific and proven cases that it is the level of carbon dioxide that determines our health. This is better explained in another blogpost…

http://www.josephdeungria.com/p/breathe.html

In summary, there are so many pencil solutions out there, just waiting to be shared. This blogpost is my small contribution to spreading the word, and the solutions.