A hole was added to the cap in 1991.
Wait, the hole in the cap is that recent?
Dude… That’s 34 years ago.
Yeah, I know I’m approaching fossil age, but the pen itself was first made 75 years ago. I had always assumed that the hole in the cap was a change made much closer to the 50s than sometime within my lifetime.
A very helpful comment
How dare you. I wont be 34 for 7 more months…
smeagolnotlistening.gif
According to the Wikipedia article.
Was that to try and prevent choking?
Yes. From the BIC website:
Why is there a hole in the cap of BIC® Cristal® Pens?
Our vented caps comply with international safety standards ISO11540. These standards attempt to minimize the risk to children from accidental inhalation of pen caps. Traditionally the pen cap served only to protect the pen point. These vented caps allow more air to circulate around the pen point when the pen is capped. This further adds to the quality and overall performance of the pen.
So they dry up more quickly now? How is that supposed to add to the ‘performance’
As soon as the ball at the end rotates, you’ll get fresh ink again - the amount that dries at the very tip is miniscule. This change dries up the slight detritus that builds up around the tip, too - we used to wipe that off onto your other hand if it was the first bit of writing you were doing that day. But damn, that was a few years ago.
The guy on the line wants to stop the money printer? No, no no… you don’t change the top selling pen of the century. We can introduce a lighter though. Guess we’re doing fire now.
Maybe some razors.
honestly, kinda refreshing to see a business not changing their shit constantly just to change shit. it’s not the nicest pen, but it works.
likewise, the uniball eco pen is the perfect pen for lefties.
They do lighters too
And razors…
Very bad razors. They Never fail to leave cuts and bruises
They did perfum once. Big fail…
And boats
Really?
The lighters also got a safety update in the '90s – the child resistant spring over the spark wheel
(Looks at the anatomically modern human) Bruh this shits been the same for the past 300,000 years. When we updating this bitch? New colorways, maybe?
there have been plenty of patches, but it takes serious selection pressures to make major changes happen quickly
What? No app connectivity?!
However will they drive engagement?
Why fix something that isn’t broken?
2050: … starts manufacturing military cyborg soldiers with a Bic logo across their chest
They had a phone in 2008, so they should already have the knowledge to produce some basic electronics:
They also produce razors, so I envision some kind of BIC terminator with weapons for cutting things:
That’s cool although I’d hate the massive logo they slapped under the screen
Ah, the extremely shitty pen that scratches so bad you might as well carve your message into the paper. Lasts maybe 3 lines before it starts skipping but who cares. It exists to be as cheap as possible so your customer you don’t respect can pocket it after initialing twice and signing something.
I hate bad cheap pens so much. I never would have gotten into fountain pens if there wasn’t the counter example of how bad a writing experience can get.
American bics may be made in a different way because here in Spain they are so reliable they are a de facto standard for people taking an exam.
I think actual Bic-from-the-Bic-Company biros tend to be pretty good (especially the orange ones with black lids).
For a truly scratchy experience, you need a cheap, unbranded biro.
This is why I got into fountain pens too! These days I find myself using a good rollerball or mechanical pencil for day to day, since they’re a little more practical, but man oh man I do love a fountain pen…
Why mess with perfection?
Still tastes great
Lighters, razors and… uh, other things too.
Don’t you dare touch it!
please don’t
They were actually updated in mid 90s when they made the cap have a hole in it.
