Prompt Cast
The Surprising History and Function of Ballpoint Pens
TLDR From sharpened stones to quill pens made from bird feathers, the evolution of writing implements eventually led to the invention of the ballpoint pen. Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro revolutionized the pen by using fast-drying ink and a rotating metal ball, leading to the creation of the Biro pen and later the Reynolds pen.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Ballpoint pens have a more interesting history than one might think, starting with the use of sharpened stones for writing on cave walls.
05:11
The history of writing implements started with wax coated tablets and evolved to include Indian ink made from soot and oil, and eventually quill pens made from bird feathers.
10:16
Quill pens made from bird feathers were the best writing implements until the invention of the ballpoint pen, and they had to be replaced every week and were dependent on the type of feather and whether the writer was right-handed or left-handed.
15:12
The ballpoint pen was a revolutionary invention that improved upon the fountain pen by solving issues with ink flow, smudging, and clogging, particularly at high altitudes, and it was Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro who came up with the idea of using fast-drying ink and a rotating metal ball to draw the ink out.
19:49
The Biro pen, the first ballpoint pen to be brought to market, was a hit with the Royal Air Force and was later ripped off by Milton Reynolds, who created the Reynolds pen, which also became successful.
24:34
In 1945, a Frenchman named Marcel BIC developed a process for making ballpoint pens cheaply, which led to the creation of the BIC pen and a significant decrease in prices for ballpoint pens overall.
29:35
Ballpoint pens work by using a small ball to spread ink onto paper when pressure is applied, and the ball then rolls back up into the pen to collect more ink for continued writing.
34:39
Ink in a ballpoint pen consists of a pigment or dye dispersed in a liquid called a vehicle, which can be any number of things including tannins, and the vehicle is responsible for carrying the ink from the pen to the paper and binding it to create a permanent mark.
39:55
The myth that NASA spent years and a lot of money trying to develop a pen for astronauts to write with in space is debunked, as the Russians actually used pencils, but NASA eventually found a solution with the Fisher space pen, which is pressurized and can write in microgravity and underwater.
44:57
Erasable pens use liquid rubber cement instead of ink, which takes about 10 hours to bind to the paper, and rollerball pens have slightly more liquid ink than ballpoint pens.
49:34
Colorado's growing population and interest in hiking 14ers has led to an increase in unprepared hikers needing search and rescue, sparking a debate on whether Colorado should start charging for these services.
Categories:
Society & Culture
