Post-it Notes

Post-it Notes were created by 3M scientists, Dr. Spencer Silver and Art Fry. Silver discovered the adhesive for the notes when he was researching adhesive in a laboratory and during the process, found an adhesive that stuck lightly to surfaces but didn’t bond tightly to them. What he discovered was microspheres that retain their stickiness but could be removed, allowing attached surfaces to peel apart easily. Fry discovered the need for the notes when he would put scraps of paper to mark pages but saw how easily they would fall out. Fry and Silver partnered to create the new product and wrote messages on the notes to communicate around their office, which made them realize just how much potential the sticky notes had. Fry decided to prove the product’s need by supplying the employees of 3M corporate headquarters with the notes. The employees loved them, and 3M decided to launch the notes in four cities under the name Press ‘n Peel. The notes became an overnight success. “It was always a self-advertising product because customers would put the notes on documents they sent to others, arousing the recipient's curiosity. They would look at it, peel it off and play with it, and then go out and buy a pad for themselves.” (post-it.com).

Source: https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/contact-us/about-us/