Inventions are the ingenious gadgets and machines that have made our lives a little more fun, interesting, and easier. Real inventions are the things that we did not think were possible yesterday, and yet, it would be difficult to live without today. From the tiny paperclip to the massive jet engine, every month we will explore the history behind our world’s most famous inventions and learn about the innovators that designed them.
This month we explore the history behind an invention that most of us likely just take for granted…
The Post-it Note
Post-it Notes are one of the world’s favorite office supplies. Here’s a little fact about those sticky notes that might surprise you – like many of today’s great inventions, they were invented by accident!
In 1968, 3M researcher Dr. Spencer Silver had the job of developing adhesives for 3M. Although his mission was to create a stronger, more reliable adhesive for the aerospace industry, Silver ended up with something else. He created a weak adhesive that could be removed easily without leaving behind a residue. The glue also kept its stickiness when applied with pressure and was reusable. “At the time, we wanted to develop a bigger, tougher adhesive,” Silver said in a later interview. “This was none of those.”
For a number of years, Silver had a solution on his hand looking for a problem. He presented the adhesives at numerous business meetings and proposed their use for bulletin and message boards, but his proposals were rejected.
In Search of a Bookmark
In 1974, fellow 3M scientist, Art Fry, recalled one of Silver’s presentations when seeking out a way to solve a problem he was having with his bookmarks. Fry would use pieces of scrap paper to mark places in his books. However, it seemed like they always fell out. He dreamt up a bookmark that could stick to the pages, but that could also be easily removed without damaging the paper. That’s when Fry remembered the adhesive invention of his colleague. The adhesive would be perfect, he thought, and Fry then started developing the notes using Silver’s adhesive for 3M.
Using Silver’s adhesive, Fry was able to produce reliable and reusable sticky notes, but it became quickly apparent that these sticky papers had much more potential than just bookmarks.
The Color Yellow
Yet, still, one more accident would help shape the future of the Post-it Note. When Fry and his team began developing the product, they could only find yellow scraps of paper to experiment with. The signature Post-it Note yellow of today can be traced back to this “accident.”
After developing the product, 3M released the Post-it Note during a 1977 test run in four cities in the United States. At the time, they were called “Press ’n Peel” notes, and sales were discouraging. Eventually, 3M decided to pull them off the shelves.
The Launch of the Post-it Note
However, in 1979, 3M re-marketed the Press ‘n Peel notes as Post-it Notes. To re-launch the product, 3M gave free samples to offices throughout the Boise, Idaho Metro Area. It was a huge success as more than 90 percent of offices that received a free sample re-ordered them!
And the rest, as they say, is history. 3M released Post-it Notes nationally in 1980, and expanded distribution into Canada and Europe the following year. Since then, Post-it Notes have become a nearly universally-known office supply item, and today, 3M produces and sells more than 50 billion individual notes per year.