Ouestions and Answers about the Inventor and the Invention :)

The Ball Point Pen
1. How much does a regular pen cost?
The cost of the pen tends to differ by the shape and the amount in it. Sometimes it’s sold in packets and sometimes it not. They usually cost no more than 4 dollars mostly.

2. What is the definition of a good ball point pen?
A definition of a good pen is when it doesn’t smudge too much and when the ink dries up quickly when applied onto the paper, also when it is cheap and in good quality.

3. Did ball point pens influence anything?
Yes, it did influence our lives. It enhanced the way we write and the speed of writing, also the number of people who use it. It mainly improved the way astronauts wrote, because ball point pens were the kind of pens that did not explode or leak on zero gravity. So, by this the people outer space tended to use pens instead of pencils.

4. Is it possible to re-use a ball point pen?
Yes, it is possible you can change the ink once it’s finished. You can either refill or replace the ink.

5. Are ball point pens still popular today? Are they still used?
Yes, they are they are used in our everyday life. In each house there are several or more ball point pens at home. These pens don’t leak which then are popular amongst business people and even students. Also the fact that it is simple and easy to use attracts more consumers. They are popular because they are efficient, cheap, and good and are mostly in good quality.

6. Ball point pen and pen manufactures.
-BIC
-Monami
-Montblanc
-Cartier

7. Are there different types, colors of ball point pens?
Yes, there are variety of colors such as blue, black and red. Mostly it’s these 3 main colors but sometimes there’s purple, pink, green and etc…
Also there are different types of ball point pens there are some with a turning effect and another type is when you press the top and the spring. The spring then will press down the pen’s ink. There are even other types like a cap pen.

8. How did the biro brothers think of making the ball point pen using a ball on the tip?
They came up with the idea of inventing the whole ball point pen, when Laszlo was working on a newspaper. He realized that the ink dried up really quickly and it often smudged and got messy. He was tired of it, so he invented the ball point pen. They got the idea of using a ball on the tip of the pen from a deodorant. The deodorant also works by a ball on the tip and when it is rolled the liquid comes out. With this in mind that is how the ball point pen works as well.

9. What are the bad sides of using a ball point pen?
There aren’t too much problems with the ball point pen. Only that sometimes when you write there could be an ink blot on your paper which then will lead to smudges.

10. How did ball point pens end up being famous? It was famous for its capability of being used in high altitudes. Often other pens such as fountain pens would explode or even leak but the ball point pen did not. It was also famous for its good quality and its cheap price. Also because the ink dries as soon as it’s applied onto the paper.

Sources:
http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/all-about-ballpoint-pen-745493.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballpoint_pen#Ballpoint_pen_art

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6173154.stm

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&resnum=0&q=Are+ballpoint+pens+reusable%3F&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=N0Z7S-6FFZCutQPAsp2QDg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CB8QrQQwAg

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ballpen.htm

By: Rebekah Shin