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Maybe it's a black day for us, but since it's arguably one of the most influential developments in the history of writing we still might remember it: today, 70 years ago, on June 10, 1943 Laszlo Biro patented his famous ballpoint pen in Argentinia. Well rumor has it that Galileo Galilei had been thinking about such a pen, that prototypes in the 19th centuries were around and Biro himself has patented the ballpoint even before today's event. But it was this patent that got the attention of the British Royal Air Force and the businessman Martin so that they bought it, produced it, sold it - and the rest is history as we say. And it all began when Biro had watched an "ink" (newspaper printing) drying almost instantly when touching the paper and sought of how to improve the way of writing by using such an ink. Even if I prefer fountain pens I still admire Biro and his ingenuity. On a sidenote: I'm working in my "office" - in German that's "Büro"... do you notice something?