The ballpoint pen is one of the most used objects in human history, yet its origins, inventor, and inner workings are almost entirely unknown to the people who use it daily. László Bíró's story and the remarkable engineering behind something so ordinary have been rendered invisible by the very ubiquity of his invention. Familiarity has erased curiosity.

The ballpoint pen is one of the most used objects in human history, yet its origins, inventor, and inner workings are almost entirely unknown to the people who use it daily. László Bíró's story and the remarkable engineering behind something so ordinary have been rendered invisible by the very ubiquity of his invention. The more familiar an object becomes, the less anyone thinks to ask how it came to exist.

Bíró to Bic is a bilingual, ten-chapter publication that traces the full arc of the ballpoint pen, from László Bíró's life and vision, to the mechanics of the invention, to its life as a medium for artistic expression. The publication transforms an overlooked everyday object into the subject of genuine fascination, inviting readers to see something they have held a thousand times as if for the very first time.