In 1968, a scientist at 3M in the United States, Dr. Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive.[1][2] [3] For five years, Silver promoted his “solution without a problem” within 3M both informally and through seminars but failed to gain acceptance. In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook.[4][5] Fry then utilized 3M’s officially sanctioned “permitted bootlegging” policy to develop the idea.[5] The original notes’ yellow color was chosen by accident, as the lab next-door to the Post-it team had only yellow scrap paper to use.[6]
3M launched the product as “Press ‘n Peel” in stores in four cities in 1977, but results were disappointing.[7][8] A year later 3M instead issued free samples directly to consumers in Boise, Idaho, with 94 percent of those who tried them indicating they would buy the product.[7] On April 6, 1980, “Press ‘n Peel” was re-introduced in US stores as “Post-It Notes”.[9] The following year they were launched in Canada and Europe.[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_note
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