Stylus, Styli, Styluses, Syloid

Just in case you are wondering about the title, those words are in reference to that pen-like thing you use to interact with devices such as touch screens, PDAs, and since this is a video games blog, the Nintendo DS. Stylus - singular, Styli, Styluses, Syloid - plural.

According to Wikipedia, a stylus is a "writting utensil" (on the subject of utensils, Jon has an interesting article on a particular collection). First made of reed and used to write cuneiform on clay tablets by ancient Egyptians, styli (this time probably made of metal) were then used to write on wax tablets by the Europeans up till the 19th century. (Reference: Wikipedia)

As mentioned earlier, the modern role of styli is in facilitating the interaction between a human user and touch screen devices. Styli can also be found as pick-ups on vinyl record players; speaking of which, does anyone have any idea how much a vinyl record turntable costs these days? I've got a box full of vinyls but no turntable (and I'm abit partial to anything from Technics).

Back to styli,stylus, syloid, however you want to call it, I've managed to lose one Nintendo DS stylus since purchasing the console mid-last year. But thanks to the Play-Asia's Crazy week, I'm waiting for the arrival of a pair of Nintendo DS styli (USD 3.19 for the pair and one of 'em is made of copper!) and a whole bunch of other stuff.