A chandelier made out of Bic biro pens is shown at the 100 Years of Plastic exhibition at the Science Museum May 22, 2007 in London. (Photo : Getty Images/Bruno Vincent)
The ordinary ballpoint pen used by millions of people worldwide was the product of Ladislao José Biro. He invented it just when World War II was about to begin in 1938, with its name taking the designation of its creator.
Born in 1899, Biro had been a journalist for some time, a painter, and an inventor, who was frustrated by fountain pens which blotted and smudged. He initially thought of visiting a newspaper press, which used quick-drying ink along with a roller.
After the tour, Biro thought of how the process could be simplified right down to the level of the ordinary pen. That is when he set out on creating the famous Biro, which began production in 1944 under the name "Eterpen," retailing at an equivalent of $43 (£33).
On Sep 29, it would have been Biro's 117th birthday, and Google is honoring his occasion with a Doodle. That means he was exactly born on Sept. 29, 1899, into a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary.
According to Mirror, Biro's first idea of creating the renowned ballpoint pen was to use the quick-drying ink method on a fountain pen. However, it did not work as the ink was both too quick and slow-moving to reach the nib of the pen.
He proceeded to create a ballpoint nib, which was coated with a thin film of ink from the cartridge as it spun in its socket and made contact with the paper. Biro initially tested his invention with a fountain pen and printing ink, which had the wrong reliability, according to Telegraph.
Following his letdown, he enlisted György Bíró, his brother, who was a chemist by profession, to create ink with the right viscosity. The pair attained their desired result, named their invention and patented it as "Biro" in 1938.
To this date, the pen is still called a Biro in many countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Ireland, although it is known as a ballpoint pen in the United States. The Biro's nib has been modernized to accommodate the needs of a varied group of users.
Here is a brief walkthrough of Biro's invention:
