MAN WRITES WAY INTO HISTORY.Byline: Angie Bluethman Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Digging his hand into his pants pocket, the gray-haired host pulls out a pen, its silver smudged by the fingerprints of a millionaire who has a story or two to tell about his remarkable life. ``I've learned the key to success - be lucky instead of smart. I've also learned the key to long life - keep breathing,'' says Paul C. Fisher Paul C. Fisher is the inventor of the Fisher Space Pen. He now holds the patent for this invention, which is the most lucrative in the history of pens. The Fisher Space Pen is manufactured in Boulder City, Nevada. , president of Fisher Space Pen Co. At 83, Fisher is accomplishing a lot more than just breathing. His ``space pens,'' which write upside down and through oil and grease, have been used exclusively on manned space flights since 1967. They also serve as the official ``Star Wars'' and ``Star Trek'' pens. No one would guess that this man who drives a secondhand station wagon and wears plain blue suits owns an $8 million-a-year company. His life story is captured in a walk through his spartan apartment located upstairs from his company in this modest desert town in the shadow of Hoover Dam Hoover Dam, 726 ft (221 m) high and 1,244 ft (379 m) long, on the Colorado River between Nev. and Ariz.; one of the world's largest dams. Built between 1931 and 1936 by the U.S. . Pictures and letters from astronauts and presidents line the walls. There are also news articles about Fisher, who made two bids for Congress and even ran against JFK in the 1960 New Hampshire Primary The New Hampshire primary is the first of a number of statewide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years, as part of the process of the Democratic and Republican parties choosing their candidate for the presidential elections on the subsequent . Growing up in Ellsworth, Kan., the son of a Methodist minister, Fisher was an ingenious kid who once made a radio out of an oatmeal box, wires and a crystal. ``I'm curious and I've got an inventive mind,'' Fisher said, toying with a spinach omelette at his favorite diner diner, restaurant resembling the railroad dining car that is its source. In the mid-19th cent., the first dining cars that appeared on trains were nothing more than an empty car with a fastened-down table. George M. just around the corner from his office. Fisher attended college in Kansas and Iowa. Early jobs included bread store manager, truck driver, accountant and manager of a ball bearing company. In October 1945, he passed up the opportunity to join a Chicago ball point pen company, saying the pen leaked. But the pen was an instant success, making $5 million in three months. Fisher went on to open a machine shop but was ever mindful of the leaky leak·y adj. leak·i·er, leak·i·est Permitting leaks or leakage: a leaky roof; a leaky defense system. Adj. 1. pen's success, and in 1948, he founded the Fisher Pen Co. One night in a dream, Fisher envisioned the company's first product - the chrome-plated bullet pen. The pen wasn't perfect; the ink still leaked a bit. But Fisher continued to work on it. ``The scientific technique is simply trial and error. I've made at least 10,000 pens that didn't work,'' he said. Retailing for $17.50, the bullet continues to be the best-selling pen in company history and has been exhibited for years by New York's Museum of Modern Art as an example of industrial art. Fisher made his first $1 million off the patented ``One-For-All'' refill refill noun A second allotment of a prescription agent obtained from a pharmacy, which is allowed by the original prescription verb Pharmacology To obtain more of a particular drug, after the initially prescribed amount of the agent has been used or , designed to fit most pens. ``When man started to fly in space, it occurred to me that they would need a pen that would work in the vacuum of space. It had to be sealed and pressurized pres·sur·ize tr.v. pres·sur·ized, pres·sur·iz·ing, pres·sur·iz·es 1. To maintain normal air pressure in (an enclosure, as an aircraft or submarine). 2. .'' In 1965, Fisher sent his space pen to Houston Space Center, and NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. began testing it. Since 1967, Fisher's space pens have been on all manned space flights - American and Russian. ``Even the Russians use my pens,'' he joked. The space pen has the ability to write at temperatures ranging from -50 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It can write underwater and over grease because of a tungsten carbide tungsten carbide n. An extremely hard, fine gray powder whose composition is WC, used in tools, dies, wear-resistant machine parts, and abrasives. ball and a thick ink constantly being pushed out by a pressurized cartridge. Charlie Walker, who has spent a total of 21 days in space aboard three Shuttle missions, said astronauts take as many pens as they want on missions. ``The Fisher pen worked just perfectly,'' Walker said. Space pens can be found at better department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. and specialty gift shops, ranging in price from $3.50 to $250. The ``trophy'' pen, with a titanium-nitrade finish, sells for $1,000. With no hint of retirement in sight, Fisher is still inventing pens, like his latest, the Millennium, guaranteed to write for a thousand years. ``When I get old, I'm going to take up golf,'' he says. ``I have no desire to retire. I'll probably die with my boots on.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) Paul C. Fisher, president of Fisher Space Pen Co., displays his pens and space memorabilia. Associated Press |
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