I Have a Gripe

Fountain pens have been around for a thousand years and fountain-type pens have been around even longer. Their writing looks better than anything else, they are easier to control than ball-points and they are absolutely necessary for calligraphy. So why is it impossible to buy a fountain pen without looking like an unbelievable jackass?

I know it is not hard to make a fountain pen. I know all you need is a little reservoir and a little split steel nib. I know how it's done. It is way easier than making a ball-point pen. Why doesn't Bic make fountain pens? Is all the metal required just enough to make them unprofitable? Do people really not like to write with fountain pens (unthinkable)?

Is everyone writing on airplanes all the time because that is the only reason the ball point pen was invented in the first place? Is everyone creeped-out by the idea of using a fountain pen with a soft plastic body? I am a little. But still it just goes to show how a capitalist system can lead to me not getting what I want.

That was my gripe.