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I just watched The Martian again and noticed something I missed the first time: Watney's notebook has four holes (instead of three) punched in the left margin, which means it's probably A4 in size (though I didn't get a close enough look to be sure).

This is odd since it's an American mission. Is there an official explanation? If not, what's the likeliest explanation?

  1. By 2035 the US has switched to ISO paper formats and metric measurements.
  2. Watney stole the notebook from Vogel's personal effects.
  3. The production designer thought that that particular notebook looked cool.
  4. Other.
Paul D. Waite
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crmdgn
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    I saw the question title in the sidebar and could not help but think of Frog and Toad and the lost button, which, you see, also had four holes. – zwol Aug 06 '16 at 03:03
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    Well, Nasa has already decided to use metric since a while. Sure the actual transition takes some time and pockets of imperial units still remain, but you could assume that by 2035 the transition is over. – Hoki Aug 07 '16 at 07:37
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    @Hoki - And of course, when they don't use metric, things can get expensive and messy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter – Valorum Aug 08 '16 at 00:21
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    I learned something new today... I didn't even understand the question at first, am I to understand that there is a place in the world where 3 holes are normal? – orion Aug 08 '16 at 12:52
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    @orion yes, that's normal in the US, and probably Canada. – Wayne Werner Aug 08 '16 at 13:29
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    what do you mean instead of three? – njzk2 Aug 08 '16 at 13:52
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    "By 2035 the US has switched to ISO paper formats and metric measurements" - so, THAT"S why the whole mission ended up screwed up! :) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Aug 08 '16 at 14:19
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    Well, I think the metric system works better for math and science, and the customary system works better for cooking and domestic use. – Xandar The Zenon Aug 08 '16 at 14:26
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    @XandarTheZenon Sure, but metric can be customary as well. – Nils_M Aug 08 '16 at 15:28
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    @Nils_M Ah, I see what you did there – Xandar The Zenon Aug 08 '16 at 15:30
  • ... For variety on the hundreds of cold Martian nights? (OK, mods delete this and censure me-- I deserve it) – ThePopMachine Aug 08 '16 at 16:52
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    @orion I learned something new today... I didn't even understand the question at first, am I to understand that there is a place in the world where 4 holes are normal? :P – kuhl Aug 08 '16 at 18:26
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    @XandarTheZenon The metric system works perfectly fine for cooking and anything else. Honestly, 95% of the world is using metric, if that was really a deal breaker you'd think someone would've noticed over the years. – Voo Aug 09 '16 at 00:25
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    @kuhl 95% of the world has two or four hole ring binders actually. Three is pretty much a US idiosyncrasy. – Voo Aug 09 '16 at 00:25
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    4 holes makes more sense many reasons (just like standard paper has mathematical justification). You can fold it in half and you still have two holes. You can punch holes in pairs and you can have a binder with 2 clamps with 2 rings each. You can use a binder with only middle two rings (they are quite common). 4 holes are also more stable. – orion Aug 09 '16 at 06:52
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    @Voo Just worked it out: it's actually 94.9% of the world population using metric and 95.2% using DIN paper formats. Good guess. – tardigrade Aug 09 '16 at 08:43
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    Question should be "Why don't notebooks of people in the US other than Whatney's character in 'The Martian' have holes for A4 paper like in decent civilized countries". – einpoklum Aug 09 '16 at 08:59

2 Answers2

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I've reached out to the film's Prop Master and the film's Senior Graphics Artist who both kindly responded to my (more than slightly odd) email.

I assume they won't mind my quoting verbatim.

I don't remember any 4 hole binders. We punched all the hand books to 3 holed ones with 2 hooks like NASA does. The binders in bg [background] were probably 4 hole just cause it was easier to get. No hidden meaning just budget and time. Haha

and

There are many prop elements that go into a complicated film like the Martian and when making decisions about what props should look like we firstly research what NASA has used in the past, or what fits into are fictional Martian world and helps to tell our story and look good on screen.

I'm pleased that you and your friends found the ring binders so interesting, I just hope the rest of the film lived up to your exacting standards.

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Valorum
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    This has to go into the book of SE records as the one answer that goes above and beyond!!! – Rincewind Aug 06 '16 at 06:53
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    Ahhhh would this platform have been that popular when I went to school.... When ever my teacher had asked "What might the author try to tell us" I had answered: "No idea, but lets check SE, some one over there for sure is able to ask the author!" '^.^ – Zaibis Aug 06 '16 at 08:51
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    @Zaibis Not really. It used to be much easier to get in contact with your favorite author. Famous writers used to be listed in the telephone directory and you could actually just call them. Yes, you could call Isaac Asimov and ask him if he could tell you the name of this one short story you thought he might have written (it was apparently always The Last Question). Sadly I'm also way too young to have experienced that myself. – Voo Aug 06 '16 at 11:29
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    @Voo apparently they all started to go ex-directory when the fans started calling them. By accounts Tolkien was particularly upset because American fans would call him - he got fed up explaining they were calling in the wee hours, UK time. – gbjbaanb Aug 06 '16 at 14:19
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    @gbjbaanb It was clearly a situation that couldn't scale and I don't even want to consider the practical problems that would cause today. A more innocent time (even if people had apparently problems with the concept of timezones). – Voo Aug 06 '16 at 18:28
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    @Rincewind - Glad you approve :-) – Valorum Aug 07 '16 at 00:18
  • In-universe explanation still needed. – djechlin Aug 08 '16 at 04:34
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    @djechlin: "No hidden meaning just budget and time." -- Meaning that there is no in-universe explanation possible. – DevSolar Aug 08 '16 at 09:00
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    @DevSolar there's always an in-universe explanation, even if the creator doesn't know it :P – djechlin Aug 08 '16 at 14:16
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    @djechlin: I'll go for "just budget and time" then. NASA wanted to give the astronauts some notebooks, and they couldn't find any cheaper in the nick of time than those A4 ones. ;-) – DevSolar Aug 08 '16 at 14:17
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    @DevSolar Well with the US being pretty much the only country not using DIN paper formats, you probably really can get better deals on A4 paper if you order in quantity. – Voo Aug 09 '16 at 00:15
  • I'd actually suggest summarising the central answer (as @DevSolar did), especially since the second quote just dodges the question. –  Aug 09 '16 at 10:44
  • @Lilienthal - There doesn't appear to be a good in-universe reason. It's just a production goof. You might as well ask why the Terminator's face changes so dramatically during the bike chase. http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fcds_e1421792922642t2.png – Valorum Aug 09 '16 at 11:14
  • @Valorum I know, I'm just pointing out that your answer would be more clear if it actually said that up front. By "central answer" I just meant something like "There was no specific reason, they just used whatever was available." –  Aug 09 '16 at 11:54
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    @Valorum Nice answer! You went out of your ways to show us that! I was wondering if you could provide us the content of the email you sent? :) – KeineMaster Aug 09 '16 at 12:47
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    @keinemaster - "*Noel, I was hoping you could settle a minor bet for me. In The Martian, Mark is consistently shown with a 4-hole binder (European-style) whereas NASA typically use 3-hole binders (US-style).

    Was this prop choice intended to convey a hidden meaning about the nature of society in the year 2035 (something about internationalisation, for example) or was it simply a stylistic choice (e.g. it looked better on screen for some reason)?"*

     – Valorum Aug 09 '16 at 13:57
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The Martian was filmed in Hungary and Microsoft lists A4 as the default paper size for that country in its applications adding weight to the suggestion that it was just cheap to go and buy some notepads locally rather than ship them in and they would therefore have likely been A4.

WARPed1701D
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    Paper sizes based on DIN476 are actually the standard everywhere in the world except the US (and Canada). For good reason - it's far superior to the US system. In my experience it's nigh impossible to get letter sized paper outside North America so that's the most likely explanation. – Voo Aug 09 '16 at 00:20
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    Agree that DIN format is vastly superior, because of the √2 aspect ratio. In my experience some Latin America countries (e.g. Bolivia) also use a mix of DIN and America paper formats. – Pierre Henry Aug 09 '16 at 09:30
  • A lot of the movie was shot in Jordan http://www.businessinsider.com/wadi-rum-photos-the-martian-2015-9 – Rdster May 25 '17 at 14:35