INSIDE A BALLPOINT PEN

Discover the mechanism that gives this everyday item the power to write

- SCOTT DUTFIELD

The first ballpoint pen was patented in 1888 by American inventor John J.Loud. While the initial design could be used to write on leather and wood, it didn't work well on paper. In the 1930s, Hungarian journalist and inventor László Bíró improved upon Loud's design and created the modern-day ballpoint pen, called the biro.