Who invented the ballpoint pen? Detailed answer

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Who invented the ballpoint pen? Detailed answer

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Did you know?

Who invented the ballpoint pen?

a) Mr Biro.
b) Mr. Bish.
c) Mr Quiet.
d) Mr Loud.

Before the era of ballpoint pens, writing was considered a rather dangerous and troublesome task. Quills had to be regularly dipped in inkwells, pens were constantly leaking, and ink (which in English is called Indian ink, "Indian ink", but invented in China) took too long to dry on paper. All of these problems were first raised in a patent filed on October 30, 1888 by a leather tanner named John J. Loud. It was he who created a pen with a rotating ball instead of a sharp tip, which continuously "bathed" in the ink coming from a special container. And although his pen still leaked, it was much more comfortable to write on the skin with it than a regular fountain pen. Unfortunately, Laud did not manage to bring his invention to mind. Otherwise, we would be talking about disposable "lauds", and not about ball "biros".

The Hungarian Laszlo Biro (1899-1985), although he studied medicine, never received a doctorate. Before seriously devoting himself to journalism, Biro tried a wide variety of activities, including hypnosis and car racing.

Puzzled by the difference in drying time between printing ink and the contents of a fountain pen, Laszlo Biro and his chemist brother Georgy tried fitting the pen with a tiny ball bearing that successfully "pulled out" the printing ink as it rotated. Thus the famous "biro" was born.

The brothers patented the invention in Hungary in 1938, and in 1940, fleeing the Nazis, they emigrated to Argentina, where they patented the ballpoint pen again in 1943. One of their first customers was the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, delighted with the excellent functionality of the "biro" even at high altitude. Soon the name "biro" became synonymous in Britain with a ballpoint pen.

The first widely sold "biros" were made in 1945. At the same time, Biro sold the license for the production of ballpoint pens to a Frenchman named Marcel Bich (Bich).

Bish named his company "BiC" and, after slightly modifying the Biro model, mass-produced an incredibly cheap six-sided plastic fountain pen.

BiC is still the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of ballpoint pens, with annual sales of 1,38 billion euros. In 2005, their 100 billionth fountain pen was sold. BiC's bestseller, the Kristall brand, sells 14 million copies a day.

As a mark of respect for Biro, Argentines - who, by the way, call fountain pens birome - celebrate National Inventor's Day on September 29, the date of his birth.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What are gases?

Matter exists in different forms. When it resembles air, it is a gas. Gas is made up of tiny particles that move freely. They seek to spread in space as far as possible. Therefore, the gas does not have a definite shape. It takes the form of the vessel in which it is located, spreading and occupying the entire volume of the vessel.

When a gas is in a container, its moving particles hit the walls and bounce off. Trillions and trillions of particles are constantly bouncing off the walls. When hit, each particle produces a push. Together they create pressure with these shocks. If the container is made smaller, it will have a smaller volume, the gas particles will be compressed more. They will be given less room to move. They hit the walls more often. Therefore, if the volume decreases, the pressure of the gas increases.

If the gas is heated, its particles move faster and the pressure increases. If the temperature drops, the particles move less quickly. If the temperature is low enough, the attraction of the particles to each other causes them to combine and remain in this state. The gas ceases to be a gas. It liquefies and becomes a liquid.

There are many different gases. The most common gas is air. In fact, it is a mixture of gases, the main ones being oxygen and nitrogen. Other common gases are nitrogen, carbon dioxide (which we exhale), carbon, exhaust gases (very abundant), helium, hydrogen, and methane.

Test your knowledge! Did you know...

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