- [Narrator] Behold, the ballpoint pen.
But where did it come from?
Meet Laszlo Biro, born in Hungary in 1899.
As a journalist, Laszlo Biro
was fed up with fountain pens.
Their ink smeared and
took too long to dry.
With the help of his brother,
Biro designed a pen with a new tip
made of a ball and a socket.
As the pen moved across the paper,
the ball would rotate and
pick up a layer of ink.
As the ball continued rotation,
it moved the ink to the page.
The ballpoint pen was a clever idea.
- [Congratulator] Good job.
- [Narrator] But it didn't
gain worldwide attention
until British pilots
in the Royal Air Force
started using the pen during flights.
Because ballpoint pens do not rely
solely on pressure to distribute ink,
they function better than
fountain pens in high altitudes.
Biro patented the pen in
both France and Argentina.
And Argentines celebrate Inventors Day
on the anniversary of Biro's birth.
In many countries,
ballpoint pens are called
biros in his memory.
