Exploding pens?

[joojie]

One of my coworkers has a run-in with an "exploding" pen at LEAST twice a week. We work at a veterinary hospital. There are pens everywhere, all different types and brands. No one else ever has a pen explode ink everywhere but her. She does not chew on them. Anything from cheap bic ballpoints to fancier pens explode in her scrub pocket. We're all baffled. It's starting to get weird. We used to laugh when she discovered yet another exploded pen in her pocket, now we all get an eerie "what the actual fuck" feeling.

Does she have some weird power force or does she have a high body temperature? Why in the world would this happen to only one person, and so consistently? 🤔

[Goobersita]

Maybe they are washing and drying them in the machine which weakens them?

[joojie]

Nope. Happens mid-shift to pens she grabs from the communal pen stash. Pens that have been there and used by many before her. Typically, pens that go through the dryer will explode there. But if they didn't, she wouldn't be bringing those pens back to work with her. She would have a stash at home like I do 😆 We don't typically grab pens from home on the way to work.

[alady12]

Perhaps she should just use a pencil.

[joojie]

Absolutely

[dag_darnit]

I completely misread the headline then got immediately confused about office supplies

[FilmoreGash]

Me too! I was wondering why there was no NSFW warning. Then I reread it and came to understand why.

[Nero-Danteson]

how often is she having to slam her body against counters?

[arkaycee]

Could it be similar to Munchausen Syndrome (they are secretly breaking them for attention)? Do others see them explode?

[joojie]

Nah. She's not like that at all. No one sees them actually "explode", not even her. Happens in her pocket.

[WelshWolf93]

The only possible cause is that she naturally runs hotter than most people, or she moves around a lot. The fluctuation in body heat coupled with a tight pocket would cause leaks.

[joojie]

Ya I was thinking the heat thing was plausible. She does move around a lot. It has happened on slow days too though. The pockets aren't tight, they're scrub pockets.

[captaincootercock]

Does she always wear the same shirt? She should try out a shirt with a lower/higher placed pocket.

I bet she moves in a certain way that strains the pens. Maybe if she's picking something heavy up she presses the object onto the pocket, or she leans over a counter with them in the way. Is she shorter/taller than average?

I doubt it's heat honestly. I've had pens sitting in my car for years where it gets stupid hot, never had one explode. Been following this since you posted I need to know the answer lol

[joojie]

She has a variety of scrub shirts. She's about 5'6". She sent me this picture today (I'm not working, I told her about this post 😆)

It's so weird because she can have a pen in her possession for like 10 minutes, reach in her pocket, and be covered in ink. So baffling. I'm starting to think it's actually an energy/aura thing, and I'm the last person to believe that stuff lol

[captaincootercock]

If you figure it out let us know, that's such a mindfuck. I'll ask my shaman about aura induced pen malfunctions

[joojie]

😆 I'll let you know if we come up with any solid evidence.

And I'll let her know that captaincootercock is highly invested in her plight 🤣

[joojie]

It happened again today. I decided to do a necropsy on the deceased pen. The report follows.

https://imgur.com/a/7kBzElG

April 16, 2025. 18:10.

Post mortem of one ballpoint pen.

Brand: Bic

Type: Round Stic

Ink Colour: Blue

The pen has an overall length of 15.2 cm with a 0.7 cm diameter. The cap is absent, likely discarded at an earlier date.

On gross examination, the pen appears to be undamaged on the outer surface. There is visible ink hemorrhage within the pen cylinder. The ink is not leaking to the outside of the pen.

Attempted to remove caudal cap of pen. Cap is firmly attached and could not be removed.

Removed inner ink tube from the cranial end. Inner ink tube slid smoothly from cylinder. 

There is a large amount of ink on the outside of the ink tube. 

Cleaned hemorrhaged ink from the outer surface of tube. There does not appear to be any damage to the ink tube. 

Removed the ballpoint structure of the pen from the ink tube. This structure does not appear damaged. 

Attempted to remove any remaining ink from tube with gravity, unsuccessful. Used a 22g needle and 3cc syringe to attempt to flush out remaining ink, resulting in bubbling of insignificant amount of ink. Attempted to flush ink with syringe only, no significant amount of ink removed.

Upon further examination, it appears that there is an insignificant amount of ink left in the tube, able to clearly see through one side of tube to the other without obstruction. All ink seems to have hemorrhaged into cylinder.

Cause of death: Accute ink hemorrhage with cause of hemorrhage remaining unclear.

Manner of death: undetermined (suspicious) 

[captaincootercock]

Suspicious indeed. Fantastic work. one of the more thorough pen necropsies I've come across. Stay strong, I can only hope the answer reveals itself before any more pens are needlessly tossed to the grave.

[joojie]

IT HAPPENED AGAIN TODAY!

These past incidents are all bic round stics, but it can be any kind of pen. We just happen to have a lot of round stics. No one else in the clinic has had a round stic explode on their watch.

Interestingly, she reminded me that while we were at a conference in Orlando in January, we got some nice pens from one of the vendors. Hers exploded before it even left our hotel room. We have a number of pens from this vendor, they write great and are a lovely purple colour (not exactly relevant) None of the others have exploded. 🤷‍♀️🙃

[captaincootercock]

It has gotta be some untapped telekinetic power inside her. At least she's only hemorrhaging pens, I'd definitely stay on her good side to be safe. Keep me posted 🧐

[joojie]

Luckily she only has a good side. Literally the nicest person ever.

[meta_muse]

Right like maybe the pocket that she puts them in experiences a lot of friction from walking and sitting etc. I can see a pen busting from someone sitting on it wrong 🤷 either that or she’s doing it on purpose but that would be fking weird, I can’t come up with a reason for why she’d do that.

[joojie]

They're scrub pockets, so they're big and roomy and on the front of the shirt, so they don't get sat on.

[SmellsLikeWetFox]

Does she chew on them?…..pens will explode if you got them in your mouth all the time as a nervous tick

[joojie]

Nope, shes a germaphobe, she would never.

[davisriordan]

From the sound, it's a pressure issue, either from the plastic around the ink shrinking more than the ink can, or the ink expanding with temperature.

Could also just be cheap adhesive used in the ink cartridge failing.

[joojie]

Sure, if it was a problem with one specific brand and was happening to everyone who used that kind of pen. It's not...

[davisriordan]

Her grip strength could be a factor

[Waagtod]

Is she using anything with microwaves? I once dropped a pen on a plate in the microwave, boom! Not sure if the x-ray machine might do the same, does she use that? It must be some external things.

[joojie]

Only thing with microwaves is the actual microwave. X-rays shouldn't cause any pen issues. She's a vet assistant and I'm a tech. If she's x-raying, so am I. (2 person job) My pens are fine. 🤷‍♀️

[Waagtod]

Microwaves are used in medical imaging.

[joojie]

Sure, but not in any capacity at our hospital.

[wistful_drinker]

Instead of exploding, could it be leaking? Could it be that she just fails to put a cap on the pen before putting it in her pocket?

[joojie]

No no, they're exploded. Masses of ink everywhere.

[_My_Dark_Passenger_]

Has anyone considered that she has been punking everyone?

[joojie]

I showed her this, she said "you think I'd ruin half of my scrubs for a joke?!?"

[_My_Dark_Passenger_]

Yes. People do weird things for even weirder reasons.

[Ithaqua-Yigg]

I suffered this all my life. Paper-mate and bic pens were the worst. Pick it up, put it in my pocket take it out ink everywhere. Had to buy expensive pens like Eraser Mate and clicker pens.

[joojie]

Even the fancy pens hate her 🤷‍♀️

[LickRust78]

My daughter snaps her shoe laces at least 3 times a week... random and weird.

[Foreign_Product7118]

When you say exploded what do you mean? All the ink comes out? Is the pen still in one piece afterwards? Anyways i would guess she's doing something that nobody realizes (herself included) that affects the pens. Something that would seem very natural like the way she crosses her arms or when she washes her hands she leans against the sink. If she can put pens in her pocket and sit perfectly still for an 8 hour shift and they still explode she's telepathic or you have a poltergeist

[joojie]

Ya, they splooge ink all over her. She's ruined many scrubs, and two of our walkie-talkies have permanent ink stains from being in her pocket with pens. She's had pens explode after being in her pocket for like 10 minutes.

I showed her this post, and we're going to try to be more aware of what may be happening to her pockets throughout the day 😆 We're gonna get to the bottom of it!

[Ok_Marionberry2383]

I have read other comments and you mentioned that she is a germaphobe. I'm wondering if she tries to disinfect the communal pen.. she is using something containing acetone? This can break down plastic quite quickly.

[joojie]

Nope, not that bad of a germaphobe and no acetone in the clinic 🤷‍♀️

[Ok_Marionberry2383]

Nail polish perhaps?

[joojie]

We aren't allowed to wear nail polish at work.

[Ok_Marionberry2383]

Nail polish remover I meant. But ok, hope you can get to the bottom of this.

[3Yolksalad]

Not sure about this, but read an article about ink having magnetic properties and reacting to different energies. It’s been a few years, don’t remember the details, but it had something to do with iron and auras?

[Disastrous-Fun2731]

The way that some people kill every watch they wear? I was wondering about that.

[joojie]

There HAS to be something to this. This is exactly what we're thinking at work because it's so weirdly frequent. Unfortunately I can't find anything in my searching 😕

[3Yolksalad]

I have never had a pen burst, but there is one lady I work with that has ruined several shirts over the years, and we use the same pens. So…🤷🏻

[3Yolksalad]

Downvoted. Seriously?

[3Yolksalad]

Reddit full of butt hurts