How This Pen Changed The World
915,121
Published 2024-04-25
Have you ever wondered how a simple pen could revolutionize the world of writing? In this video, we delve into the incredible story behind the BIC Cristal, possibly the most successful product ever made. From its innovative design to the clever use of physics, discover how this iconic pen became a global phenomenon, selling over 100 billion units worldwide and significantly impacting literacy rates.
Ready for another giveaway? Be sure to stick around until the end of this video to find out how you can win. You can find the entry link below.
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Short on time? Feel free to skip ahead in this video using the chapter links below.
00:00 The Pen That Changed the World
01:07 The History of the Pen
02:42 Capillary Action in Ballpoint Pens
05:05 Developing the BIC Cristal
06:17 BIC Cristal Pen Design
07:47 How BIC Cristal Changed the World
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References:
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Written and edited by Ewan Cunningham (www.instagram.com/ewan_cee/)
3D Modeler: Orkun Zengin
Music used in this video:
Melting Glass - Eden Avery
To Loom Is To Love - The Mini Vandals
San Pedro - Sugoi
Updstate - Track Tribe
Sunset Trails - DJ Williams
Key To Your Heart - The Mini Vandals
#bic #biccristal #bicpen
All Comments (21)
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Is this your go-to pen or not? - Shoutout to AnyDesk for making this vid possible, get it for free here: www.anydesk.com/primalspace
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Best part of the pen design is that the hexagonal shape fits a compact cassette, so allowing you to wind up a tape that is loose, without damaging the player, plus you could rewind a tape without wasting precious battery power.
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You should have mentioned how the pen's design continued to improve over time, such as how the cap was given a hole to prevent choking if it was lodged in an airway
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I’m old enough to remember one change that was made to the BIC Pen. When I was a kid, the LID used to be closed off. Now, there’s a hole at the top. I didn’t know why until I got older and found out the reason was because if a child accidentally swallows the lid and it lodges in the throat, there’s a hole to allow for airflow until the lid can be removed. I remember hearing stories of young children who had died because they swallowed the lid.
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We used to remove the guts and used the pen body as a peashooter in school. The art department had this huge bucket of small, clear plastic rods, used to melt into projects, that fit the pen perfectly and FLEW across a room. What a time we had!
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over 60 years and the mascot, design, and branding of bic is the same. hats off to marcel. I have like 50 just flying around my house RN. Edit: Indeed, my pens fly. Also, wheres voldemort
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Fun fact: In Argentina, ballpoint pens are still referred as how Biro initially marketed them: Birome
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It’s so ubiquitous as to almost be invisible - yet it’s as iconic an example of 20th century industrial design as the VW Beetle or the Coke bottle.
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In France, when I was young, we started to learn writing with fountain pain. It was very interesting to improve your griping, patience, cleanliness and carefulness. But at the time I did not have understood that, and I couldn't wait to be allowed to use a ball pen. The massives advantages was so obvious !
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It's disappointing you didn't mention the competition with the pencil in this period of pen innovation. Until this pen, the pencil was the dominant writing tool for over a century, and helped literacy rates skyrocket.
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We all know why it sold so well: The tip's texture is extremely pleasurable to chew.
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Bruh i never know there was THIS MUCH engineering behind a mere thing called 'Pen' it's utterly amazing fr.
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Because the original cap wasn't flattened at the top, you could pull the cap off the pen tip by about 1 inch (25mm), then squeeze the tip between three fingers, which propelled the cap back onto the pen tip, which made it look like the cap was magnetic. I amazed many fellow kids with this trick in the 1960's.
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as an african this pen is still part of my day to day as a student. THANK YOU BIRO AND BICH!
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Actually that was my father's FIRST pen! I have so many in my house and the design is still the same! An engineering marvel....
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Another thing Primal Space never mentioned is how fountain pens also used capillary action to control their own ink's flow, the ballpoint is just a compressed mechanism for doing the same thing as the nib of a fountain pen in a smaller space, with less material. This is why oil based ink needed to be developed for ballpoint pens at all.
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You also missed the hole in the lid of the pen which is there in case it gets lodged in someone's throat. They would still be able to breathe (ablbeit with difficulty) until the pen lid was extracted.
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The Ultimate Pen that doubled as a perfect cassette rewinder, a blowgun, and mini table-hockey stick that could also write words. Marvelous.
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"Simplicity is the final achievement" Hats off for the engineer that made this pen!
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Repeat after me: Correlation does not imply causation.
