9 min listen
Invention of the ballpoint pen
FromWitness History
ratings:
Length:
9 minutes
Released:
Jul 10, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In 1938, László Bíró, a Hungarian journalist, invented the ballpoint pen, because he was sick of smudging the ink from his fountain pen.
Inspired by the rollers of the printing press at his newspaper, he came up with the idea for a small ball at the end of the pen, which would stop ink from leaking.
Thanks to a chance meeting with the Argentine president Agustín Justo, László was invited to Argentina to manufacture his pen.
They soon took off and now around 15 million of them are sold every day around the world.
Rachel Naylor speaks to László’s daughter, Mariana Bíró.
(Photo: Ballpoint pens. Credit: Bernard Annebicque/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
Inspired by the rollers of the printing press at his newspaper, he came up with the idea for a small ball at the end of the pen, which would stop ink from leaking.
Thanks to a chance meeting with the Argentine president Agustín Justo, László was invited to Argentina to manufacture his pen.
They soon took off and now around 15 million of them are sold every day around the world.
Rachel Naylor speaks to László’s daughter, Mariana Bíró.
(Photo: Ballpoint pens. Credit: Bernard Annebicque/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
Released:
Jul 10, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Forced Sterilisation in Peru: In the 1990s more than 280,000 women were sterilised in Peru, many against their will. by Witness History