Pens - Facts and Trivia

A pen, derived from the Latin word pinna, or feather is an elongated, slim curved apparatus utilized to affect ink for the function of writing on paper. Traditionally, dip pens, quill pens and reed pens were more common. In latter-days, pens are available in a hodgepodge of colors, and universally hold either blue or black ink.
Here are some facts and trivia about pens that you might not be aware of: -
1. On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
2. More than 2 billion pens are manufactured in the United States annually.
3. There are 5 main kinds of pens used worldwide; ballpoint, fountain, soft-tip. rolling-ball and specialty pens.
4. The first fountain pen was invented by L.E. Waterman in 1883, and had it patented in 1884.
5. The first ballpoint pen was invented by Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro in 1938, but the first patent belonged to John J. Loud in 1888.
6. In World War II, pilots used ballpoint pens because they do not leak at high altitudes.
7. The oldest surviving fountain pen designed by Frenchman M. Bion, dates back to 1702.
8. The first American patent for a pen was received by Peregrin Williamson, a shoemaker from Baltimore.
9. Today, 4 fountain pen producers have a monopoly on the market, Waterman, Sheaffer, Parker and Wahl-Eversharp.
10. In October, 1945, Milton Reynolds, after a previous visit to Buenos Aires where he discovered the Biro pen, (invented by Laszlo Biro) copied the product in 4 months and launched his own massive campaign in New York City, selling USD 100, 000 worth in the first day.
11. In England, the first pens sold were in December 1945 by the Miles-Martin Pen Company.
12. Parker introduced its first ballpoint pen, called the "Jotter" to the market in 1954, superior to both the Reynolds and Eversharp versions. Because the "Jotter" wrote 5 times longer, annual sales came to USD 3.5 million.
13. The BIC Crystal, the immensely trendy adaptation of the Biro pen sells 14 million pieces daily world-wide.
14. Black ballpoint pens manufactured by Parker have a lifespan five miles long of writing before the ink dissipates.
15. In 1831, John Jacob Parker claimed the copyright to the original self-filling fountain pen.
16. Quill pens were first used circa 700 A.D. and were the popular writing choice for 1, 000 years.
17. The United States of America's Declaration of Independence was written using an eagle feather quill pen by the late President Abraham Lincoln.
18. The pen used by President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation was a steel dip one made by the French Company, Blanzy, Poure & Cie.
19. In The United States, the third largest writing instrument manufacturer is the Pilot Pen, and is the nest ever growing Company of this industry in the world.
But not many people know that Pilot Pen's parent Company is actually Pilot Corporation Tokyo, which was established in 1918, which in turn, is the oldest writing manufacturer in Japan.