History of Sticky Notes

Okay, so this may seem lame, but have you ever thought about the history of "Sticky Notes"? I know, its not something normally thought about, but I've actually thought about it once. I know, I know "nerd", but actually i learned alot. I also realized that most mistakes can be great miracles.

Sticky notes started out as just a mistake. Dr. Spencer Silver accidentally created a "low tack" glue that was pressure sensitive (it stuck to things when pressure was applied to it) and reusable. He started promoting it within the company he worked in. After about 5 years of no success in promoting it, his friend Art Fry came up with the idea of using the adhesive for a bookmark. After several more years of intense marketing and failure, 3M (the company Silver worked for) decided to call it quits. A year later they decided to retry and gave free samples to some people in Boise, Idaho (capital of Idaho). THEY LOVED IT! 3M decided to follow through on their advertising and now we have the nation-wide sensation named "Sticky Notes".

Yea, I know this history lesson was kind of boring, but when you think about it, if it had not been for Dr. Spencer Silver we wouldn't have the great computer application "stickies". Had it not been for every one of those people in Idaho (somewhere out there) we would not have not the Sticky Note Pen ($4.95 at walmart). When you really think about it, it wasn't really a mistake when Dr. Silver made the sticky adhesive that holds a thin little paper to our favorite books, and other things.