The Argos Pen On A Chain
Three inches of blue biro, chained to a plinth.
The stubby pen used to write catalogue numbers on a paper slip, deliberately too small to steal and stolen constantly.
The chain was short, the pen barely worked, and the paper slips ran out. It is an entirely unremarkable object that everyone in Britain can picture perfectly.
Argos eventually replaced the whole system with touchscreens, and something genuinely was lost.
Cost back then
Free, technically
Goes for now
Genuine Argos pens sell on eBay, which is very funny
