# The Secret Service Has an Ink Library **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090 "2023-05-15T18:10:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/1 "2023-05-15T18:10:45Z")
A collection of every single kind of Ink, over the last 100 years. [https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/news/a13875/secret-service-ink-forensics-library/](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/news/a13875/secret-service-ink-forensics-library/) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/2 "2023-05-15T18:22:57Z")
Well _somebody_ has to be keeping all of those databases. > **[Omniscient Database - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OmniscientDatabase)** > > No matter what sort of clue the Crime Scene lab has found (blood, wire, rope, oil, perfume, etc), somebody has manufactured a database designed to search through them all. Not only that, our heroes at the crime lab have purchased a copy of this … ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/3 "2023-05-15T19:31:10Z")
They take care of US currency, so they would be interested in various and sundry inks. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/4 "2023-05-15T22:50:35Z")
This kind of thing is definitely necessary, when it comes to authenticating old documents, books, and ephemera. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/5 "2023-05-15T23:51:58Z")
And ransom notes. And threats. And forgeries. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/6 "2023-05-16T00:10:21Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This kind of thing is definitely necessary, when it comes to authenticating old documents, books, and ephemera. I’ve heard there’s an art museum at Harvard that has a collection of old pigments for just that reason. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/7 "2023-05-16T02:39:32Z")
I know a woman who does a lot of custom sewing work, and this includes using vintage and period fabrics as much as she can. Several years ago, before starting one project, she put 60 pieces of cloth into the washing machine, and removed 55 from the dryer. She did that on purpose, because she wanted to make sure these items would hold up to modern care standards before proceeding. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/8 "2023-05-19T15:04:45Z")
Am I remembering correctly that some large law enforcement agency kept a collection of typewriters, just to allow type comparison? (Back when non-handwritten written evidence would had to have been done on a rypewriter.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/9 "2023-05-19T15:07:44Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Several years ago, before starting one project, she put 60 pieces of cloth into the washing machine, and removed 55 from the dryer. I used to have similar experiences with socks in the days when I used laundromats. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/10 "2023-05-22T00:16:39Z")
Who does her plumbing? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-service-has-an-ink-library/984090/11 "2023-05-22T09:34:48Z")
I just want to know if she has a wormhole that connects her washing machine to her dryer.