Ballpoint pens

1: Originally designed for the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, as usual fountain pens leaked in planes from lower atmospheric pressure. Handles can not write in space and in a state of weightlessness.

2: The first batch of ballpoint pens went on sale in New York in 1945. The line was such that the authorities had put a cordon of several hundred police officers. During the day it was sold 10 thousand pens, although the novelty worth $ 12: so many American industrial worker received 8 hours of work.

3: Rods ballpoint pens were originally folded in an accordion to increase the capacity of ink: they had "twice the length." However, then to reduce the cost of production, began to make thin, smooth rods.

4: In almost all European languages ​​ballpoint pens are named using the word "ball»: «ballpoint» pen in English, «bolígrafo» in Spanish, «penna a sfera» in Italian and «Kugelschreiber» in German. Only in Argentina pens called "birami", in honor of the inventor Laszlo Biro pen, which is not received from his invention penny: due to the fact that he had not issued a patent on time, it oblaposhili experienced dealers. By the way, Biro died not so long ago, in 1985.

5: Every second in the world sold 125 pens. Third of the market pens in America is owned by BIC, which since 1983 has sold more than 7 billion US handles.

6: For 1 year man uses up 3-4 handles, with every good pen can write 50 thousand. Words.

7: If a person is to give a new pen, the first word that he would write to her to be his name.

8: In America there speaking English pen - a computer that is sold in a set with a special paper. She corrects all errors made in writing, may translate into Spanish and back and still say the words out loud.

9: The most expensive pen, inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records, worth 1 million. Euro. This platinum pen «Montegrappa».

10: Every year, choking ballpoint pen, kills about 100 people.