The Ball Point Pen
The Ball Point Pen The first patent for ballpoint pens was issued on October 30, 1888, to a man named John Loud. Using a very small steel ball, held together by a socket, he tried, unsuccessfully, to create such a writing device. Unfortunately, his efforts failed miserably and without being able to foresee a commercial use for his invention, he let the patent lapse. Later in the 1900s another attempt was made, the idea caught on and everyone was filing a patent. Alas the attempts were futile, inventors were unable to keep the ink flowing or soaking through the paper. In fact, it wasn’t until a Hungarian newspaper editor László Bíró became so frustrated with his fountain pen, that ballpoints took a successful turn. Bíró noticed that the ink used in his newspaper dried quickly which left the paper smudge free unlike the ink in his fountain pens. He decided that he would try to make a pen that used the same type of ink that they used in the printing of the newspaper