You see these sticky notes of different shapes, sizes and colors wherever they can remind you of something important. There are already special boards for stickers, they were made in order to somehow organize the random gluing of leaflets throughout the room. Few people know that when creating this product, the inventors went "from the opposite" - it was not demand that gave birth to supply, but the novelty was "attached" to real life for a long time.
The twists and turns of this story began in 1968 at 3M. This company, founded back in 1902 in the state of Minnesota in the United States, became famous for the invention of scotch tape. It was this product that literally saved the company during the Great Depression, when entire trading empires collapsed. 3M not only did not go bankrupt, but also reaped significant profits from its durable transparent adhesive tape, which consumers actively used in everyday life.
Due to the success of the new product, the company began to pay more attention to the clerical direction and research. 45% of the profits went to work looking for useful ideas in various areas of life. In one of these research laboratories, 3M worked to improve the quality of the adhesive for scotch tape Spencer Silver.
But the new tool came out with slightly different properties. It held this substance rather weakly, but practically did not leave traces on the surface. The glue turned out to be heat and water resistant, but could not firmly connect the parts to each other.
Silver could not think of where to use the new substance. He made glue in the form of a sticky surface and a spray, but there was no demand for these products. In 1973, manager Jeff Nicholson pondered over the use of the novelty, he began to use a notice board covered with Silver's adhesive.
The most successful idea came from the researcher Art Fry. He came up with the idea of applying the substance to part of the paper strip and using it as a bookmark that does not fall out. Such strips peeled off easily and did not leave traces, after which they could be used again.
Fry tried in every possible way to introduce the new product, but the engineers of the ZM company did not share his enthusiasm and referred to the difficulties of the production process. To which the researcher replied that this was for the best, since no one else would definitely undertake this work. In 1980, the product appeared on the market under the brand name Post-It Notes. The following year, the company made a lot of money on stickers.
Now these pieces of paper are used in full force both at home and in the office. They are cheap and have tangible practical benefits, reminding people of important things that cannot be forgotten. The assortment of stickers is truly huge: lovers use heart-shaped products, girls choose caramel pink leaves, and office workers most often use ordinary white notes. Children use colorful stickers to create crafts and draw on them with pleasure.
Today, 3M is still flourishing and produces more than 50,000 products for industry, medicine and everyday life (abrasive, adhesives).
