Most of us have used a ball-point at some point in our lives, but have you ever wondered why the cap of the pen has a hole in it? The reason might surprise you.
The hole on top of the cap of a ballpoint pen serves a very specific and interesting purpose. The hole is meant to prevent suffocation if they are swallowed by a user, said a report published by Ary News on Wednesday.
BIC Cristal, one of the oldest pen companies, has said that they added the hole on top of the cap to allow airflow. The hole would make sure that the person, in case he accidentally swallows the cap, is able to breathe and does not suffocate.
The company wrote on their website, “In addition to helping prevent the pen from leaking, all our BIC caps comply with international safety standards that attempt to minimise the risk of children accidentally inhaling pen caps.”
They added that some of these vented caps, like that used for the BIC Cristal, have a little hole in the top to comply with the existing safety standards.
According to a report by The Independent in 2016, around 100 people in the US die by choking on pen lids.
