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Early Egyptian scribes developed many tools to document life and testaments: papyrus paper, a wooden writing palette, brushes, ink made from soot and gum (or some sort of tree sap) and the dust of red oxide, and reed pens. https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/scribe/ -
Though popular belief has us thinking Ancient Chinese peoples used brushes to write on paper, an earlier form of script called "oracle bone script" was precedent to the commonly known as the "regular" and "clerical" scripts. Oracle bone script was produced by carving characters into animal bones and turtle plastrons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calligraphy -
The quill pen, commonly used in the Barbarian Kingdoms of Medieval Europe from the 6th to 19th century were a popular choice of equipment once the reed pen declined in popularity. Quills were usually made from the feathers of geese, swans, and turkey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quill#:~:text=History,-Sharpening%20a%20quill&text=The%20quill%20pen%20evolved%20from,swan%2C%20and%20later%20turkey%20feathers. -
In Arab Egypt, the Fatimid caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah wished, rather ardently, for a pen that would not allow for ink to leak down onto his hands and clothes. So came forth the reservoir pen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_pen -
German inventor Daniel Schwenter figured out how to make a reservoir pen by putting one, ink-filled quill into another quill and stoppering the ink with a cork. To release ink, the outer quill would be squeezed to then coat the writing nib with pigment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_pen -
In Revolutionary times, British and American forces would use a mixture of ferrous sulfate and water to encrypt seemingly innocent letters with sensitive information. To unlock such secrets, one would need to treat the paper that held them with heat from a flame or an acid reagent like sodium carbonate. https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/spy-letters-of-the-american-revolution/secret-methods/invisible-ink/ -
A version of the ballpoint pen was invented by a man named John J. Loud who was trying to make a tool that would be able to write "on rough surfaces—such as wood, coarse wrapping paper, and other articles" unlike fountain pens which could not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballpoint_pen#:~:text=The%20first%20patent%20for%20a,which%20fountain%20pens%20could%20not. -
Paul C. Fisher was an innovator in the field of pens, having made many among his years, but none like the Fisher Space Pen. The pen that could write in space due to its thixotropic ink, pressurized, nitrogen-filled cartridge, and tungsten ballpoint tip, and was used by astronauts on the Apollo 11. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-fisher-space-pen-boldly-writes-where-no-man-has-written-before-1020748/ -
Researchers at the UT Austin and the Baylor College of Medicine have managed to develop a device the size of a simple pen that can detect cancer to keep the unnecessary removal of healthy tissues. The MasSpec Pen, as it is called, is able to help cancer surgeons feel sure walking out of the OR that they did their job right. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/scientists-invent-pen-can-detect-cancer-seconds-180964947/ -
In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" the journalist Rita Skeeter is seen using a tool called the "Quick-Quotes Quill" to jot down important and summarized facts about Harry during an interview with him. My prediction is that somewhere in the development of artificial intelligence, we as innovators come up with a pen that can write, edit, and summarize verbal information dictated to it by a user. Like using voice-text on your cellphone, you can speak to this real life version of Rita's quill.