The pen began as a sharpened reed used by Ancient Egyptians, but the reed point dulled quickly. It was replaced by a feather quill, then a steel-nibbed quill, a fountain pen, and finally the disposable Bic pen that was manufactured in the billions. Meanwhile, the Japanese and Chinese were using soft brushes and ink because regular pens were not useful for character writing. Only when the felt pen was invented did they switch. From those came the colored markers children use today.