When I was a kid (yeah, yeah, long ago), my dad worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst. (Dad's a Realtor now, so if you're looking to buy or sell a home in Baltimore City or County, or Harford County, look him up...)
Some of the jobs he held back then were government contracts; and so, as usually happens, minor office supplies would find their way home. I remember a pad of paper with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission logo, for example.
And of course, Skilcraft pens and pencils. I remember green wooden #3 pencils with the "Skilcraft U.S. Government" logo; and of course, the ubiquitous black ball point pens. So this Washington Post article was strangely nostalgic. But it's also a celebration of robust, simple engineering.