Homage to an invaluable tool.

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Numerous sources tell us that this day, in 1945, was the day that the first ballpoint pen went on sale in the United States. Though pens of this sort have on occasion leaked in the pocket of my shirts, on the whole they have been at least as useful to me as have the various word processors that I've encountered over the years. Respect for our elders is an important value, and perhaps especially so in an era so totally engulfed in change and pursuit of the new. It is thus fitting that we pay our respects for the pen that made writing a mass phenomenon. Fountain pens were certainly an important invention (the Boidem even acknowledged them on the date of their patent), but they were both messy and elitist at one and the same time. Considering that on their first day of marketing at least 8,000 ballpoint pens were sold (and they weren't that cheap) people were ready for just such an invention.

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Go to: The Boidem goes shopping.