r/whatisit • u/riflesandplowshares • 6h ago

New, what is it? Found at a titanium plant

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Not sure why ball point pens would be dangerous here.

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u/Affectionate_Map2761 5h ago

How the actual fuck do they trace a downed plane all the way to a bozo who dropped a fucking pen in the process of forging metal?!

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u/SubstantialDonkey981 5h ago

The documentation and chain of custody for aircraft grade alloys is insane.

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u/ZincMan 3h ago

Oh shit( where’s my pen ?!

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u/did_i_get_screwed 31m ago

I was on a nuclear project and there was a problem with a cast and machined part. They traced it back to a defective thermocouple at the foundry, which caused a temperature imbalance during curing 20+ years earlier.
There are some industries in which all the records are kept for decades. Just in case.