I wonder how many of us know the history of pens !
I was talking to my Dad on the phone tonight for 2 hours. . Dad is 96 and his wealth of knowledge and ability to recall and express it is truly amazing. . Although he frequently says he enjoys talking to me, I think it is probably me who appreciates the conversations more, for one reason: knowing that the time is limited.
Dad of course knows that I (attempt to) make pens, and he knows this partly because he is sometimes the beneficiary. . He has long been an aficionado (if that is an appropriate term here) of pens. . I well remember the vintage Waterman fountain pen he used to carry everywhere and I wish I now possessed that pen.
Whenever we talk, Dad asks me if I have made any pens recently and if I have sold any. . Tonight was no different and I was pleased to be able to answer both questions in the affirmative.
Then he asked me if I knew who invented the ballpoint pen and of course I didn't, but I promised him that I would research the subject and report. . He then told me that the first ballpoint pen that he remembered was marketed commercially by a man named Reynolds and it was called the Reynolds Rocket and that he (my Dad) bought one in 1947, and in the process of purchasing he missed his ride and was hours late to his destination. . He told me many of the details about where he was at the time and why he was there and where he was supposed to be ... all this from a 96-year-old relating events that had happened when he was 27, and relating them in an extremely clear and vivid manner.
Well, after hanging up I googled "Who invented the ballpoint pen".
One of the hits I got was this:
The Evolution of Modern Ballpoint Pen: A Patent History - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
The inventor wasn't actually Mr. Reynolds, who, it seems, may have infringed on an Argentinian patent by Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian, who escaped the rising Nazi influence in 1930s Europe at the invitation of the then president of Argentina, whom he had met at a holiday resort.
And it certainly wasn't Bich, who shortened the name of his product to Bic, for a probably obvious reason.
The idea for the ballpoint pen actually predates the dawn of the 20th century by a decade or two.
But I don't want to give away the story ... you'll have to read it !!!!!
I was talking to my Dad on the phone tonight for 2 hours. . Dad is 96 and his wealth of knowledge and ability to recall and express it is truly amazing. . Although he frequently says he enjoys talking to me, I think it is probably me who appreciates the conversations more, for one reason: knowing that the time is limited.
Dad of course knows that I (attempt to) make pens, and he knows this partly because he is sometimes the beneficiary. . He has long been an aficionado (if that is an appropriate term here) of pens. . I well remember the vintage Waterman fountain pen he used to carry everywhere and I wish I now possessed that pen.
Whenever we talk, Dad asks me if I have made any pens recently and if I have sold any. . Tonight was no different and I was pleased to be able to answer both questions in the affirmative.
Then he asked me if I knew who invented the ballpoint pen and of course I didn't, but I promised him that I would research the subject and report. . He then told me that the first ballpoint pen that he remembered was marketed commercially by a man named Reynolds and it was called the Reynolds Rocket and that he (my Dad) bought one in 1947, and in the process of purchasing he missed his ride and was hours late to his destination. . He told me many of the details about where he was at the time and why he was there and where he was supposed to be ... all this from a 96-year-old relating events that had happened when he was 27, and relating them in an extremely clear and vivid manner.
Well, after hanging up I googled "Who invented the ballpoint pen".
One of the hits I got was this:
The Evolution of Modern Ballpoint Pen: A Patent History - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
The inventor wasn't actually Mr. Reynolds, who, it seems, may have infringed on an Argentinian patent by Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian, who escaped the rising Nazi influence in 1930s Europe at the invitation of the then president of Argentina, whom he had met at a holiday resort.
And it certainly wasn't Bich, who shortened the name of his product to Bic, for a probably obvious reason.
The idea for the ballpoint pen actually predates the dawn of the 20th century by a decade or two.
But I don't want to give away the story ... you'll have to read it !!!!!