Sticking Power
MY HUSBAND���S READING material consists of financial publications and Chemical & Engineering News, a throwback to his chemistry education. The other day, I glanced over his shoulder to see an article about Spencer F. Silver.
Never heard of him? No doubt, you���ve used a Post-it Note or two. Silver invented their adhesive while a chemist at 3M.
The article told of his passing, and went into a technical explanation of the science behind the Post-it Note. I was intrigued to learn about the man and a discovery that���s become part of our lives���and contributes to 3M���s bottom line.
Silver discovered something called microspheres, a stickiness that has a removability component. This makes paper adhere and yet removable for reuse. Unfortunately, when Silver invented the adhesive, 3M wanted a stronger, tougher, permanent glue. They thought Silver���s discovery useless and odd.
Silver persevered. He talked up the adhesive among his colleagues. He didn���t have much luck for many years���that is, until the day he spoke with a co-worker in another research department, Art Fry. Fry had a problem. He sang in a church choir and used a bookmark to mark hymns to sing. The bookmark would sometimes fall out, causing Fry to lose his place.
Fry needed a bookmark that would stay in place, but not damage the hymnal when removed. He developed one using Silver���s new adhesive. His first attempt didn���t tear the page when it was removed, but it did leave some adhesive residue. A few experiments later, Fry solved that problem. Yet there was still the reusability aspect to the product. Management feared it would limit sales.
One day, when sending a report to a supervisor, Silver cut off a piece of the bookmark. He wrote a note on it and stuck it to the report. His supervisor wrote an answer on that same piece of paper and then sent it back.
For Silver, this was the ���aha��� moment. The sticky note was born.
It was originally launched as Press ���n Peel in 1977. In took giving away samples���and renaming it Post-it Notes in 1980���before the product became a hit. Today, it���s one of the most widely used products in the world.
Never heard of him? No doubt, you���ve used a Post-it Note or two. Silver invented their adhesive while a chemist at 3M.
The article told of his passing, and went into a technical explanation of the science behind the Post-it Note. I was intrigued to learn about the man and a discovery that���s become part of our lives���and contributes to 3M���s bottom line.
Silver discovered something called microspheres, a stickiness that has a removability component. This makes paper adhere and yet removable for reuse. Unfortunately, when Silver invented the adhesive, 3M wanted a stronger, tougher, permanent glue. They thought Silver���s discovery useless and odd.
Silver persevered. He talked up the adhesive among his colleagues. He didn���t have much luck for many years���that is, until the day he spoke with a co-worker in another research department, Art Fry. Fry had a problem. He sang in a church choir and used a bookmark to mark hymns to sing. The bookmark would sometimes fall out, causing Fry to lose his place.
Fry needed a bookmark that would stay in place, but not damage the hymnal when removed. He developed one using Silver���s new adhesive. His first attempt didn���t tear the page when it was removed, but it did leave some adhesive residue. A few experiments later, Fry solved that problem. Yet there was still the reusability aspect to the product. Management feared it would limit sales.
One day, when sending a report to a supervisor, Silver cut off a piece of the bookmark. He wrote a note on it and stuck it to the report. His supervisor wrote an answer on that same piece of paper and then sent it back.
For Silver, this was the ���aha��� moment. The sticky note was born.
It was originally launched as Press ���n Peel in 1977. In took giving away samples���and renaming it Post-it Notes in 1980���before the product became a hit. Today, it���s one of the most widely used products in the world.
The post Sticking Power appeared first on HumbleDollar.
No comments have been added yet.
