Look around you. Chances are, there’s a BiC Cristal ballpoint pen among your odds and ends. Since 1950, it has far outsold the Rubik’s Cube and even the iPhone, and yet, it’s one of the most ...

Known as a ballpoint pen, it used a tiny, rotating ball to dispense quick-drying ink, ideal for avoiding smudges. Biro had patented it in Argentina in 1938 and his pen was already on the market in ...