In 2000, the 20th anniversary of Post-it Notes was celebrated by artists like RB Kitaj and other notable figures like actor Stephen Fry, who created artworks on them.Īside from their sticky start, on the surface Post-its seem without controversy and for the most part they are. In 2004, Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of architecture and design at MoMA, included Post-it Notes in a show entitled “ Humble Masterpieces“. Since the product’s introduction, 3M has developed over 20 different types, including “extreme” Post-its suitable for tough and wet conditions, and apps that simulate and digitize analog Post-its.Ī post shared by Post-it limited to office walls or between the pages of school books, post-its are also prolific in art and design. It’s hard to imagine how many post-it notes have been sold over the years but today more than 1,000 post-it products are sold in 150 countries. And not before long post-it notes were everywhere.
Who invented sticky notes free#
Sales were scarce, so 3M then decided to send them out as free samples and see if companies wanted to re-order. Without much support it took almost a decade of convincing and product development before 3M launched it and only in four cities under the name Press ‘n Peel. Silver discovered a weak adhesive using something called acrylate copolymer microspheres – © Signe Dons, via Wikimedia Commons – © Patent #5,194,299, 1993 A slow startĮven after this eureka moment 3M didn’t believe in the value of the product. In an attempt to find a super strong glue for use in aircraft construction, Dr. The third and final accident was the colour of the original post-it, a canary yellow chosen by happenstance – a lab next door only had scrap yellow paper on hand.įind out more about revolutionary stationery products, don’t miss Bic Pen: A cheap design that changed the history of writing. With this idea he partnered with Silver and together they developed a bookmark-cum-sticky note and a whole new way of communicating. His genius was to use Silver’s adhesive on paper and use it as a bookmark. The second accident was that of another 3M scientist, Art Fry, who every Wednesday practiced with his church choir using little scraps of paper to mark the hymns. This adhesive was weak and pressure-sensitive, with the unique characteristic of being incredibly strong and resistant but easy to remove without leaving any residue behind. Instead, by mistake, he discovered the opposite, a weak adhesive using something called acrylate copolymer microspheres. Spencer Silver, a 3M scientist who in 1968 was busy researching adhesives in an attempt to find a super strong glue for use in aircraft construction. The post-it was discovered by accident by 3M scientists Spencer Silver and Art Fry – ©Rawpixel/ – Cover image – ©korovin/ A happy accident (or three) Using these sticky little squares is as simple as their design.Ī 1993 patent describes them best as a “sheet material ability to be applied to paper and removed therefrom pressure-sensitive adhesive.” The result is a non-repetitive pattern of physical thought bubbles, all thanks to a lightweight paper and an adhesive strip that lines each piece.
With a weak adhesive at the base of it, unfit for its original purpose, why then, have post-it notes stuck around so long? A modest invention born from not one but three accidents.
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A sticky adhesive and a humble pad of paper giving physical form to your thoughts and ideas.įor over forty years, the Post-it has been a stationary hero and an office staple, helping people be more productive and express themselves through quick and stickable scribbles and notes.
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