Talk:Ballpoint pen

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I'd love to try, but I can't read it - anybody know how to get an english translation?Bobzchemist 15:03, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Shouldn't that be ball-point? No, the hyphen is not needed.Bobzchemist 13:20, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Introduction

The first sentence is getting unwieldy, and hard to read, any suggestions?:

How about:

A ballpoint pen is a modern writing instrument that deposits a line of ink on paper by means of a tiny ball at the tip of the pen. A classic ballpoint pen has an internal chamber filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed from the tip during use by the rolling action of a small metal sphere (0.7 mm to 1.2 mm in diameter); the ink dries almost immediately after contact with paper. Inexpensive, reliable and maintenance-free, the ballpoint has almost completely replaced the fountain pen in everyday writing. In British English it is also eponymously known as a "biro" (pronounced bye-roe in Britain but sometimes bee-roh" elsewhere), named after its inventor, László Bíró.Other forms of this type of pen are known as rollerball and gel pens.Bobzchemist 14:48, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Accents

It's known as a 'biro' in the UK, not a 'bíró' 84.70.234.107 16:18, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ballpoint pen general article

I want to add several categories:

  • Technical description of how and why they work
  • The introduction of the pens in new york city
  • Their transformation from a luxury item to a mass-produced commodity

any comments?Bobzchemist 20:11, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Importing from the village pump:

[edit] Conflict of information - ballpoint pen

Zagreb states it was invented by Slavoljub Penkala which article states he invented an automatic pencil. Ballpoint pen states it was invented by Laszlo Biro -- SGBailey 2004-02-05

At least one person went a bit overboard a while ago concerning Slavoljub Penkala. It has been claimed that he invented the propelling pencil (which IIRC checks out), the fountain pen (which doesn't, although he had a patent on at least one specific design), and apparently now the ballpoint pen too. I think it was Biro. Onebyone 21:05, 5 Feb 2004 (UTC)
As explained under ballpoint pen, several people have 'invented' it at different times. However, I don't think Slavoljub Penkala is widely thought to be one of them; indeed, the Zagreb article in question is rather in need of checking in several ways, so is like very unreliable. - IMSoP 03:38, 6 Feb 2004 (UTC)

There are conflicting accounts of who invented what when. This article is heavily biased towards Laszlo Biro andSlavoljub Penkala, and is unreferenced. The reality is somewhat more complicated. I will be adding referenced material as time permits.Bobzchemist 15:38, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sharp Electronics and Eversharp

Though the story is often repeated, Eversharp (Wahl) was never related to Sharp Electronics. See A Tale of Two Pencils


This line is not right "Inexpensive, reliable and maintenance-free, they have almost completely replaced the fountain pen.". The Fountain Pen industry is alive and well and the Ballpoint pen has not killed it off - well at least not in the UK. To indicate that the fountain pen is as good as dead is misleading.

It is perfectly accurate. Would you take issue with the statement that automobiles have all but replaced horses? They have. Chris Cunningham 16:23, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] About pronunciation of "biro"

What's in there currently should stay as it is. Someone edited out the reference to it being pronounced as "bye-row", but I suppose the pronunciation truly is different depending on where you are. My last name is Biro and my family pronounces it bye-row. I have friends from England and they pronounced my name "bye-row" immediately without me having to tell them to, which is very rare for Americans who have just met me. Anyway, I have heard in Hungarian the actual word is pronounced "bee-row". Whatever. So there are two different pronunciations, and that's that. --bī-RŌ 01:48, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Can we remove ...

... the list of manufacturers and the list of retailers? This is not encyclopedic content; it is simply an advertising list.

Mike Helms 21:48, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

  • I removed the retailer list, as I agree that it was not encyclopedic. I'm less sure of the manufacturer's list. Figma 05:54, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
    • I think the manufacturer's list is appropriate. It is not common knowledge, nor is it readily accessible elsewhere. I could understand challenges to individual items on the list, but as for the list in general, it should stay.

[edit] Trivia

The bit about NASA spending millions on a space pen and the Soviets using a pencil is untrue. http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp . The part about 100 people coking to death on them every year is probably also an urban legend. Moberho 17:43, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I was unable to find a source for the "100 people per year" stat. I was able to find a cite for actual cases of choking (although not death). I replaced the unsubstantiated with the substantiated. WayneConrad 20:47, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image:Ballpointpentip.jpg

Okay, guys, the picture is overlapping some text. We need to fix that, and I am not that good yet, so could someone fix it? Mew Mitsuki (talk) 22:03, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hungarian name

I've never heard the ballpoint pen being called Bíró-toll in Hungarian. Google gives only 4 hits for it, all historical. It is called "golyóstoll" (pen with ball) nowadays. --Tgr (talk) 22:26, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

I remove this link "ducttaperevolution.com/duct_tape_pen.htm" because it says "Page Not Found". Ancos (talk) 00:46, 17 April 2008 (UTC)