I always thought I loved mysteries, but apparently I only like them in books and on TV. In real life, they can be annoying. But maybe that's only because in real life, mysteries aren't always solved in 200 pages or an hour with commercials.
Last week I pulled a Sharpie permanent marker from my work table drawer and found the tip completely gone. Instead of the normal pointed tip, it was sheared off. At first, I wondered if perhaps the tip had somehow been pushed down into the pen cylinder, but it doesn't look pushed in. It looks smooth and flat. It does still have ink; if I hold it completely vertical I can make little dots.
My only theory is that somehow the marker tip came in contact with a chemical that caused it to dissolve. The most likely candidate on my work bench is some silver cleaning solution, the kind that eats away at tarnish to return silver to its bright state. I did accidentally drip a little of the solution on a piece of copper I had stamped and later used a Sharpie to fill in the letters. I thought the metal was thoroughly clean and dry, but it's the only theory I can come up with.
I can't seem to find anyone else who has had this problem. I've found tips on how to bring dried out Sharpies to life, keep kids in school from stealing them, remove permanent ink from your child's face, use Sharpies in place of make-up, save a Sharpie autograph on a T-shirt, and all sorts of other problems I don't have.
Luckily, a Sharpie marker has to be one of the least expensive tools in my toolbox, so it's already been replaced. Still, it bothers me that I don't know exactly how this happened. How can I be sure it doesn't happen again?
Any ideas? I'd love to hear your suggestions.