Do you chew on the end of your pen while you're thinking? So does Dave Hakkens, a student at the Design Academy Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. And that led him to design an edible pen.

Initially, Hakkens explained, "I just wanted to make something so I could chew on my pen without making it dirty." But while looking at pens, he noticed that we only actually use the ink, while the rest of the plastic cover is just there to make it more comfortable to hold. Shouldn't it be possible to make a cover that's as good to nibble on as it is to hold? 

Hakkens then gathered a lot of pens to study which shape is best to chew on.

With that information I made three different molds and started testing out different types of candy, the breaking point, and which chew the best. When I found the shape and candy, I made a final model in peppermint flavor.

Hakkens's final design contains 22 pieces and is filled with edible ink. The only thing that isn't edible is the ballpoint with which you write.

Hakkens explains that the candy that he used "doesn’t stick on anything and doesn't melt when it's in your hands." He says it has the same texture as candy bracelets.

When the ink runs out, you can finish up the candy, and insert your reusable ballpoint into a different flavor pen.

The candy pen in action!

Although dentists and nutritionists might have some justifiable qualms, and I'm a tiny bit concerned about what happens to the chewed-on end when you put the pen down (germs!), anything that cuts down on plastic waste and gives us poor writers a tasty sugar rush while we agonize over our word choice has to be a good thing.