Pen Tricks

Boredom kills. But not always. Some times, boredom gives birth to whole new forms of fun. Not, perhaps, major fun. More along the order of what I call "minor fun." Like, for example, twiddling. To be more specific, pen twiddling. And pen twiddling itself, given enough frequent, long, and boring meetings, can develop into something of an art form. Until it is not just pen twiddling, but actual pen tricks. Penstidigitation, as it were. Magic, so to speak.

The achievements available to a true pen trickstser are so vividly illustrated by this site, serendipitously named "Pen Tricks," from whence this article's illustrations derive. Not to mention the significantly vast collections of trick-like manipulations avialble to those who follow the closely related art of Pencil Manipulation and Pencil Spinning.

(Author's note: neither of these sites restricts itself to pencils - inadvertently revealing the world view of the true twiddling devotee who will twiddle anything at hand: pencils, pens, remote controls, forks, gum sticks, and, when all else fails, thumbs).