Post-It NotesThis is a featured page


Almost A Failure

Art Fry, co-inventor of 3M's Post-it Notes, often tells the story of how the product tested horribly and almost got abandoned in the early days (1977-1979) because consumers did not understand how to use the sticky notes. So in 1979 the company took a truckload of Post-its to a single market in the Northwest and gave the inventory away. Not only did people love the notes, but they found millions of uses for them.

Origins

Chemical engineer Art Fry didn’t invent the special adhesive, and he didn’t invent the paper. But he did put them together in 1980 to come up with the best thing to happen to notes in years. His Post-it® Notes—the self-sticking notes that can be removed without a trace—are now marketed around the world.

Fry’s inspiration for the self-sticking notes dates back to when he sang in his church choir in the early 1970s. He used scraps of paper to mark selections in his hymnal, but they kept falling out. "I needed a bookmark that would stay put, yet could easily be removed without damaging my hymnal," Fry said.

At that time, Fry’s colleague, Dr. Spencer Silver, an organic chemist, was doing basic research on adhesives in 3M’s Central Research Department. Silver had created a low-tack adhesive that stuck lightly to many surfaces, yet remained sticky even after you repositioned it. Fry realized Silver’s adhesive was perfect for his needs. One morning, Fry applied some of the adhesive to the edge of a piece of paper. His thought was to make a bookmark. After having made the bookmark, he discovered that it was a great self-attaching note.

A short time later, Fry realized his invention’s full potential, when he wrote a note on one of his new "bookmarks" and attached it to a report he was forwarding to a colleague. "That’s when I came to the very exciting realization that my sticky bookmark was actually a new way to communicate and organize information," Fry said. Indeed, soon co-workers were at Fry’s desk demanding more samples of his invention. Fry took advantage of 3M’s "15 percent rule," which allows scientists to spend up to 15 percent of their time on projects of their own choosing, and the Post-It Note was born.

Introduced in the United States in 1980 and in Europe in 1981, demand for the notes grew quickly. One year after its introduction, Post-it Notes were named 3M’s Outstanding New Product. Today, Post-it Notes are one of the five top-selling office products in the United States, and are best-sellers worldwide. And, there are now more than 400 different Post-it® products available in 30 different colors, 56 shapes, and 27 sizes.


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