The disappearing marker tip mystery solved

You know how it works. A new marker gets broken out and before the night is done the tip of the marker is just showing past the end of the plastic.

You start looking at who chalked with it and wondering how they managed to press so hard that they shoved the tip into the marker. Rumors spread that some players ruin markers, then you try to see if you can press hard enough to shove the tip into the marker - and you can't.

I did it last week. I shoved the tip of a new marker right down to the tip of the plastic. I was putting the cap back on the marker and got a solid piece of plastic instead of the opening in the lid on the tip of the marker. I was pushing hard enough to get past the "click" you get when the cap is firmly replaced.

When I took the cap back off to chalk the next score, the tip was buried.

It's not people pressing too hard, it's just an accident of bumping the tip with the cap.