A ballpoint pen is an inexpensive writing instrument whose point is a tiny ball bearing that rotates against a supply of semi-liquid ink sealed in a cartridge. Most ballpoint pens are made of plastic or cheap metal. They are typically designed to be discarded after the ink runs dry. Others are designed so that their containers can be unscrewed and their ink cartridge replaced. The first of some 350 U.S. patents for such a device was issued to John Loud in 1888. No practical ballpoint pen was produced until 1938, when journalist Ladislo Biro (1899–1985) patented his own version in his native Hungary. Biro's pen used the same kind of quick-drying, smudge-free ink used to print newspapers. After emigrating to Argentina, Biro applied for a new patent. His patent was licensed by the British government during World War II (1939–45) for the Royal Air Force, which sought a pen that...