Episode 160: Pencil Ain't Forever

You might notice something…strange about this week’s podcast. Do not adjust your podcatcher. What you are hearing is happening in Real Life and in Real Time. YOUR PODCAST HAS BEEN USURPED. PENCIL IS SILLY TranscriptCharlotte: Charlotte. Do you need a pencil?  No, I have a pen. (Erasable theme)  Johnny: Hello. Hello and welcome to Episode 160 of the former Erasable Podcast. I'm Johnny Gamber, broadcasting from a secret bunker under the Pencil Revolution Headquarters Compound. After over seven years of podcasting about pencils, my oldest child is now ruthless enough to help me in this non hostile takeover of Erasable. Charlotte joins me tonight and she swears that she's excited to be here. Hey, Char!  Charlotte: Hello, Daddy. Thank you for having me. Johnny: Thank you for joining me on a school night. So Charlotte, you recently completed a science project in which you explored the permanence of different writing media that folks rely on every day, and the results were frankly SHOCKING. And they prompted us to sell off all of our Blackwings so that we could buy more vintage Parker fountain pens, and antique French notebooks.We've come to understand that pencils are just plain silly. Charlotte has kindly agreed to present her research tonight. In a short interview with her witty, brilliant, and handsome  father. With apologies to Andy and Tim, from whom we are in hiding, we present the first episode of the Pen Punk Podcast.Let's get down to business. Charlotte, your science project was pretty amazing, even though I tried pretty darned hard to stop you from exploring the idea that ink could ever possibly be more permanent than pencil. Can you tell us what your hypothesis was when you began this reckless endeavor? Charlotte: Sure. Inks that people rely on will fade faster if they're exposed to light.Johnny: Uh huh. And what made you want to stab your father in the back like that and write about ink? Charlotte: I like ink more than pencil because it comes in many colors.  Johnny: Um, have you heard of colored pencils, child?  Charlotte: Yes, but colored pencils are useless for writing. Johnny: Hmm. Says you. All right, so speaking of gear, let's geek out a little bit. What inks did you use? What kind of pen? Charlotte: I use a dip pen, India ink. Bullet-proof ink, J. Herbin, Pearl Noire black fountain, pen ink, an InkJoy gel pen, a Parker Jotter ballpoint pen, and… that's it.  Johnny: That is a lot of stuff. So can you tell us briefly, at the beginning, what did you think would fade fastest or slowest? Charlotte: I thought that India ink would fade less than the other inks.  Johnny: Huh? All right. Can you tell us about your process?  Charlotte: Sure. Get the inks and paper and put them together. Put one in sunlight and one in the dark. Leave them for about two weeks and then determine which ink faded the least. Johnny: And, uh, what did you find out at the conclusion of your experiment? Charlotte: I found that both ballpoint pen, ink and fountain pen ink faded.  Johnny: All right. Um, I have to ask, what about the pencil marks? Did they fade?  Charlotte: Well, no, but I wiped them out with an eraser in three seconds.  Johnny: All right. That's enough for me. Let's get some audience questions. First. We have a little guy named Henry from Baltimore who has a question for you. Henry from Baltimore: But Charlotte, does this mean that you don't like pencils anymore? Charlotte: Yes. Anything that can be erased with breadcrumbs isn't worth writing with.  Johnny: Hmm, good point. All right. We have another audience question, this time from Andy in San Francisco.  Andy: Yes. Hello, thank you for taking my call. Do you know how long of a line of ink a Bic Clic can write? I've been trying to test it and have been on the road for three days. It's hard because some roads are really dark asphalt, and it's really hard to see the ink. I appreciate your help. I miss my family! Charlotte: According to my mole at BIC in France, 1.2 miles or two kilometres. Stay safe out there in the dark! Johnny: That's good advice now all the way from Johnson city, Tennessee, we have another Henry. Henry from Tennessee: Hi, this is Henry from Tennessee, and I have a question about pens and cold weather. What happens if you take one out in a snow storm?  Charlotte: Well, most inks are going to freeze up on you. Get yourself a Space Pen! They write in extreme weather, and their marks don't disappear if you touch them with rubber.  Johnny: Uh, is it true that the Russians used pencils? Charlotte: No.Johnny: Okay. Well, we have another question from Tennessee. This one is from Tim, from the 10 B School.  Tim: Hi, Charlotte. This is Tim from Johnson City, Tennessee. I was wondering if in your research you found out if certain colors of ink last longer than other colors of ink. Thanks for answering my question! Charlotte: I know, from tattoos and automobiles, that red fades more quickly than other colors. But for your writing, you should be good with any ink that contains pigment instead of dye. Johnny: I liked red all that time. So now, dialing in from the Bay Area on the West coast, we have Katie.  Katie from San Francisco: Hi Charlotte, it's Katie in San Francisco. Long time listener, first time caller. I'm so excited to have you help me out with my pen problems. So I have a combination of ballpoint pens and roller balls. I don't have any fountain pens. And I'm trying to figure out if I should be storing my pens with the point facing down into the pen cup or up. Thanks so much for your help.  Charlotte: Depends. Dry pens, tip down. Wet pens, tip up. But in the end, you do you.  Johnny: So we have a looks like another call from Tennessee. This is from Lila. Lila from Tennessee: Hi, this is Lila from Tennessee. I'm wondering why pens dry out?  Charlotte: Inks only dry up when we are not honoring them by writing or drawing with them constantly. Johnny: Well, I never thought about honoring my pens so it looks like we have one more comment from Rosie and Roland park. Go ahead, Rosie.Rosie from Roland Park: You are gonna   make me cryyyyy.   Charlotte: Go tell Mommy!  Johnny: All right! So thank you for joining us for episode one of the Pen Punk Podcast, and, assuming that Andy and Tim don't either find Charlotte and I or change the password on Squarespace, you’ll hear back from us in two weeks, when I think we're going to talk about our favorite spring colored inks. Take care and stay NOT ERASABLE. Bye-bye  (closing theme)