# How Many Brain Cells Are Required To Know That You Store A Magic Marker With The Tip Pointing DOWN!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885 "2015-11-18T14:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/1 "2015-11-18T14:03:29Z")
At my job, I work alone during my shift and I work at a desk that is shared by co-workers who work the other two shifts. Pens, staplers, scissors, and stationery supplies are all shared by anyone using the same work station. I have taken to hiding a black Sharpie with my personal supplies because whenever I reach for the Sharpie in the shared work station pen holder …IT’S DRIED OUT AND RAW AND WRITES LIKE CRAP _BECAUSE MORONS PUT IT IN THE CUP TIP POINTING UP! TIP POINTING UP!!!_ Seriously. Put the marker in the cup with the _tip pointing down_, then when you need to use it you’ve got a lovely moist full of ink marker with which to enjoy a pleasurable writing experience! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/2 "2015-11-18T16:10:22Z")
I’ve had coworkers who didn’t even replace the cap. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/3 "2015-11-18T16:22:14Z")
If you store it tip down you can’t tell what color it is when you are searching for it. The cup on my desk has at least 7 colors of Sharpie in it. I’m not going to dig through all of them looking for the red one. Cap UP! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/4 "2015-11-18T16:27:35Z")
I keep my Sharpies up all the time and they work even years later. You have defective Sharpies! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/5 "2015-11-18T16:31:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If you store it tip down you can’t tell what color it is when you are searching for it. The cup on my desk has at least 7 colors of Sharpie in it. I’m not going to dig through all of them looking for the red one. > > Cap UP! You need a[Sharpie rack.](https://www.etsy.com/listing/205439709/sharpie-test-tube-rack) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/6 "2015-11-18T16:37:24Z")
Some types of markers warn you to _not_ store them tip down. Usually the recommendation is to keep them on their sides. All brain cells are equal. Some are more equal than others. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/7 "2015-11-18T17:26:39Z")
My faith in capillary action has been shattered. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/8 "2015-11-18T18:01:38Z")
Apparently more than I have, as here I am, glancing over at my desk top container of varied and assorted writing implements, Sharpies, highlighters and regular markers amongst them, only to see that they are for the most part, stored cap up. Horrors! ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/9 "2015-11-18T18:02:00Z")
The colored ones that put out something close to paint, like a silver or white you can write on black surfaces, must be tip down storage. However to indicate this they lack a clip on the cap to help hold it tip up. So that’s how you can tell; no clip, tip down. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/10 "2015-11-18T22:34:46Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > However to indicate this they lack a clip on the cap to help hold it tip up. So that’s how you can tell; no clip, tip down. :smack: So I just checked one of official Sharpies. Clip on the cap. Tip up must be okay. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/11 "2015-11-18T22:50:01Z")
I have plenty of brain cells, I just never chose to dedicate a single one to the orientation of my pens in a cup. I also don’t care which way my toilet paper faces on the roll. ::devil horns:: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/12 "2015-11-19T01:11:50Z")
I have never heard of this, and I store mine up usually, and I’ve never experienced any problems. :shrug: ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/13 "2015-11-19T01:57:30Z")
I compromise: I store all of my Sharpies horizontally on a desk or in a drawer. That way neither end gets preference over the other and there are no hard feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/14 "2015-11-19T02:47:09Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I compromise: I store all of my Sharpies horizontally on a desk or in a drawer. > > That way neither end gets preference over the other and there are no hard feelings. Facing left or right, bub? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/15 "2015-11-19T03:05:53Z")
If the OP can post a scientific cite that show he is correct, then OK. Until then, anecdotal evidence presented here would say the OP is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/16 "2015-11-19T03:50:08Z")
Designer and pen-o-phile here: I store the skinny Sharpies point down, because the thin line needs to be “juicier”. The larger Sharpies (termed “Fine Point” by the myopic Sanford pen peeps) I keep point up to get a cleaner, “less juicy” line. I’m betting the OP has older markers that are on the way to drying out. Then you need “Tips Down!” (the rallying cry I imagine him bellowing throughout his workplace) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/17 "2015-11-19T08:00:20Z")
Interesting that OP refers to Magic Markers in his thread title, but then the post, and all subsequent posts, are talking about Sharpies. > [@2gigch1](#): > > The colored ones that put out something close to paint, like a silver or white you can write on black surfaces, must be tip down storage. > > However to indicate this they lack a clip on the cap to help hold it tip up. So that’s how you can tell; no clip, tip down. This. And furthermore, if one actually reads what they say on them, they actually say “Store Tip Down” on them. (To be sure, it’s in letters too small for you to notice unless you actually look for it. I only know because the store clerk pointed that out to me when I bought them.) The other colors don’t say this. But they don’t say “Store Tip Up” either. Maybe those don’t matter much. By the way, who makes Magic Markers these days? My old nearly-dry ones all have the Avery logo on them, but the new ones I just bought on-line from Office Depot don’t. Are they not made by Avery any more? Did they sell the Magic Marker brand to some generic company? ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/18 "2015-11-19T15:58:49Z")
A fun way to send developers into apoplexy is to replace the dry erase markers with sharpies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/19 "2015-11-19T16:00:37Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > A fun way to send developers into apoplexy is to replace the dry erase markers with sharpies. 😃 Ok, calm down, Satan. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885/20 "2015-11-19T16:30:01Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > A fun way to send developers into apoplexy is to replace the dry erase markers with sharpies. 😃 This is a favorite stunt of high school students. That’s why I always look before I write. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-brain-cells-are-required-to-know-that-you-store-a-magic-marker-with-the-tip-pointing-down/737885.md?page=2)