Post-it Note

Hello there. You’ve probably seen me around, maybe stuck to a refrigerator, a computer screen, or marking a page in a book. I am a Post-it Note, a small square of paper with a special secret: a strip of glue that knows how to hold on gently and let go without a fuss. My story, however, didn’t start with a plan to become a helpful little reminder. It began as a happy accident. My journey started in a laboratory at a big company called 3M back in 1968. A scientist named Dr. Spencer Silver was working on a very serious project. He wanted to invent an incredibly strong glue, something tough enough to help build airplanes. He mixed chemicals and tested his formulas, but what he created was the exact opposite of what he wanted. He made an adhesive that was weak. It would stick to things, but you could peel it right off, over and over again, without leaving any sticky mess. At first, everyone thought it was a failure. But Dr. Silver knew he had made something unique. He just couldn't figure out what it was for. He would tell everyone about his invention, calling it a 'solution waiting for a problem to solve.' For years, my special glue sat on a shelf, waiting for its purpose.

My destiny changed thanks to another scientist at 3M named Art Fry. Art sang in his church choir, and he had a small but very annoying problem. He used little slips of paper to mark the songs in his hymnbook, but they were always falling out. Every time he stood up to sing, his bookmarks would flutter to the floor, and he would lose his place. It was so frustrating. One day in 1974, while thinking about his slippery bookmarks, he suddenly remembered Dr. Silver’s peculiar, weak adhesive. A brilliant idea sparked in his mind—a 'Eureka!' moment. What if he put that gentle glue on the back of his bookmarks? They would stick to the pages just enough to stay in place but could be peeled off easily without tearing the delicate paper. He rushed to the lab and began to experiment. He found some scrap paper—which happened to be a bright canary yellow—and carefully applied a strip of Dr. Silver’s glue to the edge. He created the very first version of me. He tried me in his hymnbook, and it was perfect. I clung to the page, holding his spot securely, and then lifted away cleanly. The problem had finally found its solution.

It took a few more years for me to get ready to meet the world. At first, in 1977, the company tested me in stores under the name 'Press 'n Peel.' But people were confused. They would see me in the package but didn't understand what made me so special. The launch wasn't a success. Instead of giving up, the team at 3M decided to show people what I could do. They started a campaign they called the 'Boise Blitz.' They went to the city of Boise, Idaho, and gave away thousands of free pads of me to offices and homes. Once people had me in their hands, they finally understood. They used me to leave notes on desks, to organize their work, and to flag pages in reports. They loved me. The true magic happened when they ran out and wanted to buy more. After the success in Boise, I was ready for my official debut. On April 6th, 1980, I was launched all across the United States with my new name: the Post-it Note. Since that day, I’ve traveled all over the world, helping people remember, create, and communicate, all because a failed experiment found its perfect problem.