How Laszlo Biro Changed the History of Ballpoint Pens

No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise when he had. Samuel Johnson. A Hungarian journalist named Laszlo Biro invented the first ballpoint pen in 1938. Biro had noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper smudge-free, so he decided to create a pen using the same type of ink. But the thicker ink wouldnt flow from a regular pen nib. Biro had to devise a new type of point. He did so by fitting his pen with a tiny ball bearing in its tip. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper.   Biros Patents This principle of the ballpoint pen actually dates back to an 1888 patent owned by John Loud for a product designed to mark leather, but this patent was commercially unexploited. Biro first patented his pen in 1938 and he applied for another  patent in June 1943 in Argentina after he and his brother emigrated there in 1940.   The British government bought the licensing rights to Biro’s patent during World War II. The British Royal Air Force needed a new pen that would not leak at higher altitudes in fighter planes the way fountain pens did. The ballpoint’s successful performance for the Air Force brought Biro’s pens into the limelight. Unfortunately, Biro had never gotten a U.S. patent for his pen, so another battle was just beginning even as World War II ended.   The Battle of the Ballpoint Pens   A lot of improvements were made to pens in general over the years, leading to a battle over the rights to Biros invention.  The newly-formed Eterpen Company in Argentina commercialized the Biro pen after the Biro brothers received their patents there. The press hailed the success of  their writing tool because it could write for a year without refilling. Then, in May 1945,  Eversharp Company teamed up with Eberhard-Faber to acquire exclusive rights to Biro Pens of Argentina. The pen was rebranded as the â€Å"Eversharp CA,† which stood for â€Å"capillary action.† It was released to the press months in advance of public sales. Less than a month after Eversharp/Eberhard closed the deal with Eterpen, a Chicago businessman, Milton Reynolds, visited Buenos Aires in June 1945.  He noticed the Biro pen while he was in a store and recognized the pen’s sales potential. He bought a few as samples and returned to America to launch the Reynolds International Pen Company, ignoring Eversharp’s patent rights. Reynolds copied the Biro pen within four months and began to sell his product by the end of October 1945. He called it Reynolds Rocket and made it available at Gimbel’s department store in New York City. Reynolds’ imitation beat Eversharp to market and it was immediately successful. Priced at $12.50 each, $100,000 worth of pens sold their first day on the market. Britain was not far behind. The Miles-Martin Pen Company sold the first ballpoint pens to the public there at Christmas 1945.   The Ballpoint Pen Becomes a Fad Ballpoint pens were guaranteed to write for two years without refilling and sellers claimed they were smear-proof. Reynolds advertised his pen as one that could write under water. Then Eversharp sued Reynolds for copying the design that Eversharp had acquired legally. The 1888 patent by John Loud would have invalidated everyones claims, but no one knew that at the time. Sales skyrocketed for both competitors, but Reynolds’ pen tended to leak and skip. It  often failed to write. Eversharp’s pen did not live up to its own advertisements either. A very high volume of pen returns occurred for both Eversharp and Reynolds. The ballpoint pen fad ended due to consumer unhappiness.  Frequent price wars, poor quality products, and heavy advertising costs hurt both companies by 1948. Sales nosedived.  The original $12.50 asking price dropped to less than 50 cents per pen. The Jotter   Meanwhile, fountain pens experienced a resurgence of their old popularity as Reynolds’ company folded. Then  Parker Pens introduced its first ballpoint pen, the Jotter, in January 1954. The Jotter wrote five times longer than the Eversharp or Reynolds pens. It had a variety of point sizes, a rotating cartridge, and large-capacity ink refills. Best of all, it worked. Parker sold 3.5 million Jotters at prices from $2.95 to $8.75 in less than a year. The Ballpoint Pen Battle Is Won   By 1957,  Parker had  introduced the tungsten carbide  textured ball bearing in their ballpoint pens. Eversharp was in deep financial trouble and tried to switch back to selling fountain pens. The company sold its pen division to Parker Pens and Eversharp finally liquidated its assets in the 1960s. Then Came Bic   The French Baron Bich dropped the ‘H’ from his name and began selling pens called BICs in 1950. By the late fifties,  BIC  held 70 percent of the European market.   BIC bought 60 percent of the New York-based Waterman Pens in 1958, and it owned  100 percent of Waterman Pens by 1960. The company sold ballpoint pens in the U.S. for 29 cents up to 69 cents. Ballpoint Pens Today   BIC  dominates the market in the 21st century. Parker, Sheaffer, and Waterman capture smaller upscale markets of fountain pens and expensive ballpoints.  The highly popular modern version of Laszlo Biros pen, the BIC Crystal, has a daily worldwide sales figure of 14 million pieces. Biro is still the generic name used for the ballpoint pen used  in most of the world.

The Cold War And The Soviet Union Essay - 2072 Words

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Some of the consequences of this was that the communist movement began to grow, which scare the capitalists world and that it was concluded with the seizure of power by a smaller revolutionary group. Another problem that showed that communists were a threat to the United States was known as the Red Scars. The consequences of this was that it had an effect on the government and society as the federal employees had to decide whether they were loyal enough to the country. When Germany surrender at the end of World War II, the occupation of Berlin was that each country wouldShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War And The Soviet Union973 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a state of economic, diplomatic, and ideological discord among nations without armed conflict. The Cold War was between the United States and the USSR because these were the two major powers after WWII. Basically, the Cold War was a series of proxy wars that had taken place back in time involving surrounding countries. 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Analysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay - 1361 Words

INSERT TITLE HERE As readers delve into the depths of The Epic of Gilgamesh, they perceive the allure to dreams which has captivated humanity for centuries. The epic poem uses dreams as a symbolic representation of the human mind and its ceaseless bounds. Given the Mesopotamian culture’s importance in regards to their religion, dreams provide the only means of one connecting with their future and deities. Furthermore, each mental fantasy referenced within the epic delineates the rationale of all beings to act within their self-interest, a means of thinking that serves as the basis for all thoughts and feelings. All in all, The Epic of Gilgamesh portrays how the added dimension of dreams provides insight not only into ancient culture but into the nature of mankind as well. Through the course of the aforementioned poem, characters use said visions to foretell their future and gain a deeper insight into the state of their gods. For instance amidst his journey to battle Humbaba, G ilgamesh experience five dreams which provide him a potential glimpse into the future. This can be seen as Gilgamesh claims â€Å"â€Å"My friend, I had a dream: how ominous it was, how desolate, how unclear! I had taken me hold of a bull from the wild: as it clove the ground with its bellows, the clouds of dust it raised thrust deep in the sky and I, in front of it, leaned myself forward[...]†Ã¢â‚¬ (Tablet IV) The beginning of the quote depicts the fascination that Gilgamesh has with this vision as he is trying toShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Gilgamesh And Analysis1436 Words   |  6 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh –Summary and analysis Introduction The Epic of Gilgamesh is an excerpt of the original text of the Epic listed in the Sources of the Western Tradition, 5th edition, by Perry, Peden and Von Laue (2003). 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Both translations differences have their own particularRead MoreAnalysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh 1449 Words   |  6 Pagesbeginning in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a bully king who frightens and annoys the people of Uruk. After the gathering with Enkidu and becoming his friend does Gilgamesh transform, into a hero worthy of history. The brotherly or â€Å"bromantic† ( considering the questionable r elationship they have) love the two have for each other helps Gilgamesh become an better leader to his people by permitting him to better understand and identify with them. Even though the myth of Gilgamesh is very ancientRead MoreAnalysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh 979 Words   |  4 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh tells the legend of King Gilgamesh of Uruk and his adventures with the feral human Enkidu. At the beginning Gilgamesh shares a lot of similarities to Egyptian Pharaohs. He’s worshiped by his people in a way that’s almost pious and holds himself up with a certain arrogance. 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Jacobson, and compared it to Benjamin Fosters ‘A New edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh’ These two articles both critique the writings of The Epic of Gilgamesh but in different ways. Foster’s article is a critique on a critique that has been written about The Epic of Gilgamesh, where as Jacobson critiques the epic itself, so we are

The Break-In free essay sample

Watching television and laughing with my friend Cara while in my parents’ room, I thought it seemed to be a good night. The day had been long, and we were exhausted, having sore feet from shopping earlier that day. Suddenly, and out of nowhere the loud screeching of the burglar alarm sounded the house. No longer was I thinking of sleep or the aches in my feet, but the fear of what was to come next. My mom stumbled into the room with my sister, and somehow built the strength to move the enormously heavy dresser over the door.Cara and I, realizing this was not a joke, became scared for all of our lives. At that exact moment, I never thought I would overcome the newly developed fear of burglary. The intensity in the room rose as I heard my dog barking from downstairs. My sister grabbed the home phone with her shaking hand. We will write a custom essay sample on The Break-In or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She dialed 911. The nervous tension in my body was released by pulling my loose baby tooth out. My mom, panicking, called my Dad to come home from work. Cara and I lay still in the bed unable to show emotion in our faces because of the shock. We all heard noises throughout the time of the event which slowly came to a minimum. Sitting in the room, I had so much time for unwelcoming thoughts to race through my mind. I began thinking about how dangerous and life threatening this really was. I felt as though I wouldn’t ever overcome this daring night. At last the police arrived, and begun searching around the house for clues of the invasion or to actually find the invader his/herself. The intensity in the air was still upon us. We hadn’t known whether the invader had a gun or not. What was the invader capable of doing? After a while of waiting, the cop said it was safe to come downstairs. He then told us, â€Å"I have yet to see anyone; however the alarm and the police car probably scared him/her off.† â€Å"Thank you officer,† my mom replied, letting him out the door. The rest of the night none of us could sleep. My dad entered into the house with a concerned and worried facial expression. He then went right to telling us how he saw a figure which looked like a man cloaked in all black clothing, lurking the neighborhood on his way home. The chills rushed through my arms and down my back. I felt as though I was not safe anywhere and I couldn’t ever forget the moment and how I felt in that time. Everything around me seemed unable to protect me. If the cop couldn’t put him behind bars, who could? I could see the goose bumps on Cara’s arms as well. Her eyes grew big and her face turned pale like she saw a ghost. I tried to cope with the idea that these types of things happen, but it was all too much for me. I tried talking myself into realizing he probably wouldn’t be back, whoever it was. Maybe there wasn’t anybody after all. Sadly, no matter how hard I tried to think on the positive side; the fear kept creeping ba ck into my mind; whispering to me terrible ideas which made me feel unsafe and scared. I thought I’d never overcome this moment in my life which turned into an obstacle for me to lunge over. I had this fear of sleeping at night without my dad home. I had this fear of no protection. I had this fear of always worrying what the future holds. I had this fear of life in general.I was always watching the alarm at night waiting for the green button to turn red, and make this uninvited sound of what seemed like a never ending scream of terror. However, later in that week I had talked to my mom about it. She had taught me that in order to overcome this fear I had to face the assumption that bad things happen, and I can’t let it get in the way of how I live. I realized I couldn’t live like that anymore. Life is far too fragile to live in fear of what was to come next.