Point of order over the biro

From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, first published Thursday 28th Dec 2000.

IN one of your 'On This Day' snippets recently, it stated that "1946. The first ballpoint pen went on sale, invented by Hungarian Laslo Biro."

Over the years, in various quizzes, I have seen the name Laslo Biro given as the answer to the question "Who invented the ballpoint pen?" The point (no pun intended) is that Laslo Biro did not invent the ballpoint pen in 1946 -- it was already in existence at that time.

Let me explain. When I left school in 1935 at the age of 14, I went to work in the mill. In the cloth inspection department, after the 'cut looker' had 'passed' the piece, as the bundle of cloth was called, a number and other information was written on it and a ballpoint pen was used to write it.

Made of brass, it was as thick as a man's finger and angled slightly so that the last inch holding the ball was upright and the ball was a little bigger than a match head. The pen used yellow ink and there was a screw filler cap enabling it to be refilled. When in use, these pens glided easily over the cloth.

I should imagine that they had been in use for a number of years as three or four were in use in that mill at that time. Biro might have miniaturised a version of this pen. But how he came to be credited with its invention is anyone's guess.

However, it is easy to see how wrong information can be disseminated and even compounded when recently, Ann Robinson, in the quiz show 'The Weakest Link,' asked the question "What was invented by Laslo and Biro?" The answer being, the ballpoint pen. So whoever wrote that question into that quiz show, did not know their Laslo from their Biro.

ALBERT MORRIS, Clement View, Nelson.

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