Reminds me of the story of the US / USSR space race in the '60's
The US were determined to send a man into space and they wanted him to be able to write down everything about the experience, only problem is ink filled pens are driven by gravity so a pen had to be manufactured which could write in the weightlessness of the space capsule... The American government spent billions of dollars and finally a manufacturer designed a pen which could write upside down, under water, even in the vacuum of space... The American government were so excited they took their new pen and showed it off to the world and gloated at how marvellous they were..
In an interview Yuri Gagarin was asked how he felt about not having this marvellous invention when he went to space... He grinned and simply replied "No problem... I took pencil!"