Is Octopus Ink Similar to Fountain Pen Ink?
The ink of the octopus, or any cephalopod, is composed of highly concentrated melanin. This is the same dark pigment that we humans have, and which is responsible for skin color and the color of dark hair. It is a natural dye that cephalopods manufacture in an ink sac. Most, but not all octopuses have an ink sac and produce ink, but a few, such as the deep-sea octopuses, have lost this ability....
What is Fountain Pen Ink?
The ink that we use in fountain pens or ball-point pens today bears little resemblance to octopus ink. In it's simplest form, the ink we write with is a pigment or dye and a binder. The first ink for writing and drawing was invented simultaneously in China and Egypt, around 2500 BC. This first ink was made of lampblack (soot) mixed with aqueous binders. In the middle ages and up through the nineteenth century, ink was made from such ingredients as gum arabic, copperas (vitriol), gall apples (source of tannin), and water...."
"Is Octopus Ink Similar to Fountain Pen Ink?"
By Nancy King
Tonmo.com
The Octopus Newsmagazine Online
Image: Octopus Netsuke, MFA Shop, Boston
| Permalink
|
Glad you posted this. I read it last week and got a kick out of it. There are a few jokes in there about how to refill your pen too. ;-)
Chris
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Chris Meisenzahl | September 21, 2005 at 06:35 AM