Here at Pen Vibe HQ, pens and food are two of our favourite things.
And, while we’ve never really considered them a pair, we like the idea that inventors are busy finding ways to put them together in useful, edible ways.
Actually, it sort of makes sense.
Think how often your pen ends up in your mouth. Who hasn’t chewed a pen cap, or tapped a pen against lip or tooth while deep in thought, or bitten down on a pen to carry it when both hands are full? Maybe not the most sanitary of habits, but certainly a common one.
And, if you’re like us, you tend to snack while you work, so pens and food are always together, close at hand. We’ve even been known to stir a cup with a pen, in a pinch.i
That’s why we’re delighted by some of these creations:
Dine Ink Pen Cap Cutlery – You’re too busy to go out to lunch, so you order in some take-out food to eat at your desk. As usual, the delivery guy has forgotten to put any spoons or forks in the bag. No problem.
Those clever people at Fred and Friends have come up with a set of utensils that fit right onto the end of an ordinary stick pen. Just remove the cap from the pen, slide on the plastic fork tines, and you’re ready to eat.
The set comes with a fork, spoon and knife and three stick pens.
The Edible Candy Pen – When that mid-afternoon lull hits and you want a little sugar boost to get you through the end of the day, you won’t even have to leave your desk.
The entire body of these pens is made out of candy. Specifically, 22 individual pieces of candy that you can nibble off one at a time. Norwegian designer Dave Hakkens says it isn’t sticky and doesn’t melt in your hand and compares it to the candy used in candy bracelets.
The pens actually write – the ink is edible, too – and only the writing tip can’t be eaten.
The bad news is, since the barrel is meant to be be eaten, the actual ink reservoir is tiny. You wouldn’t get much writing use out of the pens.
Hakkens makes them in a variety of flavours, including kiwi and orange.
Edible Ink Decorating Pens – Ever had to eat your words? That might not be such a bad thing if you could write them down first using one of these pens.
They’re made for decorating cakes and cookies, mostly, but you can use them on just about any firm surface. We can’t wait to try one of these pens on a sub sandwich. Nothing like a friendly “Hands OFF!” to keep someone from stealing your lunch out of the office refrigerator.
The ink is edible and non-toxic, and can be found in just about any colour or flavour. Since the ink is sugary, it doesn’t taste too bad, although the food colouring can leave an after-taste.
Nib sizes vary by maker, but you can usually find them in broad nibs all the way down to ultra-fine.
And get this: You can even buy edible ink refill cartridges for your inkjet printers.
Edible Ink Body Pens – Sometimes pens can be used for naughty purposes.
In those cases, these are the kinds of pens you need. The ink is flavoured and edible and is designed for writing on human skin. Need we say more? No? Brilliant.
However, we do have a slightly more SFW suggestion for these pens. Next time one of your friends falls asleep at a party, instead of writing mean things on his face with a Sharpie, use a body pen instead.
He won’t be so mad when he wakes up and realizes how easy the stuff comes off.
