My favorite was the Bic Banana. Yours?

Since you swipe them from the office supply cabinet, it's thanks to your employer that Bic has sold its 100 billionth pen. Goofy news item or meaningful milestone in product design? Both! At a time when fountain pens were impractical and other ballpoints were too expensive and leaky, Bic pioneered "what has since become a mainstay of modern mass-produced commerce -- well designed products, using good technology and made accessible to everyone at cheap prices and then sold across the world."

And another thing: that one pen -- the one that lets you see the ink level -- that's a model called 'Cristal.' Think of that elegant name the next time you see one chewed up, split open and stuck to the bottom of your desk drawer.