
How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive (2015) - kweinber
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pens-object-lesson-history-handwriting/402205/?single_page=true
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StillBored
The thing I notice most about fountain (or calligraphy) pens isn't how easily
they put ink on paper, but how scratchy they are.

OTOH, I think the author needs to get himself a fat, high quality ballpoint
pen. The pen size seems to actually be the part that creates the most hand
stress in my case.

Also, for that matter, I find some of the cheap gel pens seem smoother than
the cheap ballpoints too. The combination of a gel refill in a fat pen like an
old papermate PhD multi pen might be just right.

~~~
mc32
Felt/"felt" tipped pens work pretty well for me in terms of handwriting and
speed. Don't even have to be fancy, papermates or staedlers are fine.

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dang
Discussed at the time:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141874](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141874)

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technofiend
Bic's save handwriting campaign is probably more to sell pens than anything
else. Considering the many billions of non-biodegradable tubes of plastic
they've injected into the environment I don't have any sympathy for them if
their market is waning. Good riddance to them and their razors too.

~~~
PhantomGremlin
_Good riddance to them_

But, but, but ... what about spitballs?

When I was a kid 50 years ago we used those $0.19 Bic pens. (We also used ink
pens, but that's another discussion).

The Bic pens unscrewed very easily. Leaving you with a nice clear tube. You
tore up pieces of paper into tiny wads and covered them with spit. You used
the Bic tube to shoot them at your classmates.

Don't kids still do that? Without spitballs how will bored preteen boys pass
their days while being stuck in boring classes?

I suppose that nowadays Ritalin and Adderal are the preferred answers. But the
better answer is to have more engaging teachers. I switched schools in 7th
grade and the classes were much less boring. No more spitballs. Better
teachers or perhaps more mature kids?

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cafard
Yeah, but did you spatter your classmates with your fountain pen? A good flick
of the wrist threw ink ten feet at least. I should add that a) this was an
all-boys school, and b) it was in the early 1970s, ergo everyone wore clothes
made of synthetic fabrics that washed clean.

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dmurthy
Some of the pigment liner pens are pretty good to write with. I use these
[https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Pigment-Sketch-
Regular-308S...](https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Pigment-Sketch-
Regular-308SB6P/dp/B004L87XRA/)

