the.com/marker
a four-letter pen with the lifespan of a mayfly and the stink of childhood.
means A pen with a felt or porous tip that lays down a thick line of ink, used for writing, drawing, or labeling on paper, whiteboards, and most surfaces it shouldn't touch.
from From "mark" plus the agent suffix "-er" — literally "a thing that marks." "Mark" descends from Old English "mearc," meaning a boundary, sign, or border, a word with deep Germanic roots (a cousin of the "march" in borderlands like the Welsh Marches). For centuries a marker was anything that made or showed a mark — a boundary stone, a token, a bookmark. The specific sense of a fat-tipped ink pen is a 20th-century arrival, riding in on the felt-tip and its descendants.
- smell trick
- Scented markers can boost memory of what you read
- cap killer
- Caps cause some choking deaths; vents on many save lives
- squeak factor
- Whiteboard markers glide on, then betray you mid-meeting
- ink chemistry
- Permanent marker resists water using alcohol-based solvents
- chromatography
- Black marker secretly hides a rainbow of dyes
sharpie permanent marker — sanford's iconic oil-based marker launched in 1964, dominates 70% of permanent marker market
crayola classic markers — binney & smith's water-based markers first sold in 1903, standard classroom supply in millions of schools
stabilo boss highlighter — german fluorescent marker introduced 1971, most recognized highlighter in offices and schools globally