When you think of ballpoint pens, your mind probably goes to office supplies, not great works of art. But even the lowliest and most ubiquitous of writing utensils can make breathtaking masterpieces ...

In the autumn of 1948, Marcel Bich, owner of a company located north of Paris that produced ink cartridges for fountain pens, pushed a wheelbarrow in his garden in the village of Rhuis. He considered ...

Recently, Bic launched a campaign to “save handwriting.” Named “Fight for Your Write,” it includes a pledge to “encourage the act of handwriting” in the pledge-taker’s home and community, and ...

Patents for ballpoint pens go back to the late 1800s, but it took half a century to develop good, fast-drying inks. Bic, Pilot, and other makers jealously guard their formulas, but to get that classic ...

With a ballpoint, one can write without thinking, on almost any surface, and even underwater, if you feel the urge to do so. There are even pens that can work in the weightlessness of space. It's a ...

In an era of tablets, touchscreens, and keyboards, there’s something timeless – and quietly powerful – about the humble ballpoint pen. So is it any wonder, then, that June 10 marks National Ballpoint ...

June 10 is National Ballpoint pen day. Why celebrate such a seemingly simple item? When it was invented, the ballpoint pen was revolutionary. The writing apparatus was invented by Hungarian painter ...

Look around you. Chances are, there’s a BiC Cristal ballpoint pen among your odds and ends. Since 1950, it has far outsold the Rubik’s Cube and even the iPhone, and yet, it’s one of the most unsung ...

Rothman is managing editor at TIME. An early ballpoint pen, circa 1945 Rothman is managing editor at TIME. The first whispers came in the summer of 1944: a Hungarian inventor living in Argentina had ...