I Bet Ya Didn't Know

On June 10, 1943, Hungarian-born journalist Laszlo Biro and his brother George received a patent for the ballpoint pen. The Biro, as it was called, contained in its tip a tiny ball-bearing that rotated, picking up ink from a cartridge and applying it to paper. The pen made its debut in October 1945, when Gimbels department store in New York sold 10,000 in one day.