Why do BIC pens have a hole in the lid?

It has nothing to do with air pressure or drying ink

Matt Payton
Friday 05 February 2016 18:48 GMT
Comments
A chanderlier of bic pens
A chanderlier of bic pens (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

There is an important reason for the hole at the top a BIC pen lid and it is not about preventing the ink drying on the nib.

The iconic biro and lighter company explained the reason is to reduce the risk of people choking to death, reports Rachfeed.

The hole is designed to allow the passage of air if someone accidentally swallows it and it blocks their windpipe.

BIC said on its website: "In addition to help prevent the pen from leaking, all our BIC caps comply with international safety standards that attempt to minimize the risk of children accidentally inhaling pen caps.

"Some of these vented caps, like that used for the BIC Cristal, has a little hole in the top to comply with the existing safety standards."

A hundred people every year in the United States reportedly choke to death on these pen lids.

A reduction in this figure has been attributed to the hole in the lid with other companies introducing a similar design feature.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in