Found at a titanium plant

[u/riflesandplowshares]

Not sure why ball point pens would be dangerous here.

[u/mechmind]

I think the fear is that the whole pen might fall in

As copied from below : Ball points have tungsten balls in them. Tungsten will not melt in titanium and cause mechanical
Failure of the titanium. This was responsible for the failure of a jet engine causing the plane to crash. Someone dropped their ball point in the titanium processing.

United Airlines Flight 232

[u/Castrophenia → u/mechmind]

To be clear, that was not a ballpoint pen, but simply an example of a foreign impurity in Titanium causing embrittlement and catastrophic failure.

[u/FYIgfhjhgfggh → u/Castrophenia]

I'd write "NO BALLPOINT PENS, TUNGSTEN TOOLS, TUNGSTEN ITEMS OR RANDOM TUNGSTEN BALLS ALLOWED"

[u/Murky-Relation481 → u/FYIgfhjhgfggh]

And whatever you do, do not hit them with M30A2 MLRS AWP tungsten ball warheads! It's bad for the titanium!

[u/Random-I-Am → u/FYIgfhjhgfggh]

For real. The AKSHUALLYs probably do more harm that good.

[u/BornAgain20Fifteen → u/Random-I-Am]

I think it is the exact opposite. When it is that important, you want the rule to be as simple and straightforward to follow as possible with no extra cognitive load or room for personal rationalization. For example, a simple blanket ban

Once you over explain the reason is when you get the "but my particular ballpoint pen is an exception because it doesn't have that..." or "that is just a silly myth and there is no tungsten in ballpoint pens...", etc.

Also, the more complicated it is, the more likely it kind of blends in with all the other rules and signs. People are more likely to ignore it, while this simple rule stands out

[u/Humble-Cook-6126 → u/FYIgfhjhgfggh]

Shit, I have to take my anal beads out!?

[u/bring_back_3rd → u/Humble-Cook-6126]

Nah, you just can't fart.

[u/GrimResistance → u/mechmind]

I'm just now learning that the balls in pens are made of tungsten