Valentine’s Day is for love and Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are for family, but if you really want to show appreciation for what supports you through tough times, you can’t forget to celebrate National Ballpoint Pen Day on June 10.
Your ballpoint pen is there for you when the going gets tough. From the pocket of your shirt to the bottom of your purse, this trusty sidekick is reliable and always prepared to get you through intense brainstorms, long to-do lists, and the signing of important checks. This June, take some time to celebrate National Ballpoint Pen Day, and the people who keep your office flush with pens—your administrative staff!
A Brief History of the Ballpoint Pen
National Ballpoint Pen Day is celebrated on June 10 to commemorate the day in 1943 when the Bíró brothers, László and György, first filed their patent for the original ballpoint pen.
Before ballpoint pens, thinkers relied on messy quill pens and fountain pens to jot down their thoughts. These pens leaked and smeared and were not well equipped for the on-the-go lives of pen users.
The rise of the ballpoint pen made writing convenient for secretaries and fighter pilots alike. By World War II, the British Parliament had purchased the patent rights for the ballpoint pen from the Bíró brothers, and the rest was written into ballpoint pen history—with a ballpoint pen of course.
To realize the importance of the ballpoint pen, consider the fact that the ballpoint pen wasn’t popularized until after commercial aviation was in widespread use. Imagine soaring through the sky in a massive hunk of metal thinking to yourself, “I wish they’d invent a good way to take notes.” Now that’s a ballpoint pen fact worth writing down!
Ballpoint Pens: Here to Stay—Even in the Tech Age
In your office, computers are probably replacing pens as the dominant way of writing, but in a pinch, nothing works like a pen. Even today, 125 ballpoint pens are sold every second in the USA, and the average American uses 4.3 pens each year. If you never run out of pens, thank your admin staff—the people in charge of making sure your team has enough pens to keep their brilliance flowing.
Celebrating National Ballpoint Pen Day in the Office
Celebrating National Ballpoint Pen Day can be a fun and unexpected event for your workplace, centering around the opportunity to give your employees free pens. Delve deeper into the holiday by hosting a Pen Pageant, in which employees enter their favorite pen to compete for the title of Perfect Pen. There are thousands, maybe even millions, of types of pens available on the market today, and acquiring a large collection of pens doesn’t have to be expensive. If your employees do not yet have a favorite pen, give them the chance to refine their pen connoisseurship by setting up a pen testing station, and giving everyone the chance to doodle with a wide variety of writing utensils. End your day with a celebration of your administrative staff. While these hardworking members of your team do much more than order office supplies, National Ballpoint Pen Day is a great time to pay tribute to the people in your company who take care of the basics so the rest of the workday can run smoothly.
