The Invention of the Post it Note

The Sticky Pad

Spencer Ferguson Silver invented a sticky spray adhesive that he anticipated could be sprayed on bulletin boards to hold notices and bulletins, but still allowing for easy removal when the notices were no longer needed.

After years of trying, he could find no one interested in his invention.

Then one day, his friend Alfred Fry was singing in his Church Choir and became frustrated with not being able to keep his notes on his hymnal. Alfred immediately thought of his friend Spencer’s sticky stuff and presented his idea for its use as a temporary sticky note pad to his supervisors and, just as with Spencer, they were not so sure.

All of the office workers and staff where Alfred worked loved the sticky pad papers so much they requested more.

And, as they, say. . . “the rest is history”!

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