I've had the story of the $1,000,000 NASA pen bouncing around in my head for many years. Now, I find out it is not true. I'm disappointed and realize my knowledge is built on other myths.
http://kottke.org/13/10/the-myth-of-nasas-expensive-space-pens
This article is based on a story in Scientific American and Snopes has also debunked the NASA pen story.