On This Day October 29

American entrepreneur Milton Reynolds first came across the Bíró ballpoint pen during a business trip to Argentina where they were first made. Recognizing their commercial potential, he founded Reynolds International Pen Company to manufacture them. His product Reynolds' Rocket ballpoint pens went on sale at Gimbels department store in New York City on October 29, 1945 for $12.95. Reynolds advertised it as the pen "to write under water." It was immediately successful: $100,000 worth sold the first day on the market.

Birome advertisement in Argentine magazine Leoplán, 1945. Wikipedia 

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On This Day October 16

In the mid 1840s a Boston dentist called William Morton started to experiment with using ether to anesthetize a patient before extracting a tooth. He persuaded one of America’s most prominent surgeons Doctor John Warren, to conduct the first public demonstration of ether as a general anesthetic on October 16, 1846, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with Morton as an anesthetist. The operation for removing a tumor from the lower jaw of a Mr Abbott was a success and the patient felt no pain.

Re-enactment of the first public demonstration of general anesthesia by William T. G. Morton 

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On This Day October 7

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel is the current holder of the Premier League record for most consecutive appearances with 310, a feat he achieved during spells at Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur. Until the American footballer was left out of the Tottenham team on October 7, 2012, the previous Premier League game Friedel missed was Blackburn's last fixtures of the 2003–04 season against Birmingham City, on May 15, 2004.

Friedel playing for Aston Villa. By Dagur Brynjólfsson

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