Post-it note

A Post-it note (or just Post-it), manufactured by 3M, is a piece of stationery with a readherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents, computer displays and so forth. While now available in a wide range of colours, shapes and sizes, the most common size of Post-it note is a 3-inch (7.5 cm) square, trademark canary yellow in colour. The notes use a unique low-tack adhesive that enables the Post-its to be easily attached and removed without leaving marks or residue. The names "Post-it" and "Post-it note", as well as the color canary yellow are trademarks of 3M, the company which invented and manufactures them. Accepted generic terms for competitors include "sticky notes" or "repositionable / repositional notes." 3M sells other products leveraging the Post-it brand, such as index flags, organizers, ^*cards, bulletin boards, easel pads and wall pads.

History

The original adhesive used in Post-it notes was invented in 1968 by Spencer Silver, a 3M researcher. While attempting to design a strong adhesive, he instead developed an adhesive that was very weak. No immediate application was apparent, until 1974 when a colleague, Arthur Fry, conceived of using the adhesive to create bookmarks while contemplating a hymnal in his church choir. Initial prototypes were available in 1977, and by 1980-1981, after a large sampling campaign, the product had been introduced around the world.

The original run of post-it notes were used as bookmarks for the aforementioned hymnal. The remainder were shown to 3M marketing dept. who rejected them as useless. At that point Art Fry looked for further investors and a consortium he found in proxies for Raymond Howard of Redlands Ca. whom in 1978 acquired a small fortune from the Gene Roddenberry Estate for having formatted Star Trek with Gene Roddenberry in 1964 at the age of "seven." Raymond Howard suggested that the hymnals as 3M saw them as well was a very limited market, and that he knew a girl who had Asperger's syndrome and whose husband had to post with scotch tape and 3 X 5s menus for her to follow. That if 3 X 3s were produced with Silver's product that they would serve better for product distribution as "post-it notes!" Three products would be available in the market then, flag it's, post it notes, and the dispensers, and that Art Fry get credit and be on the board of CEOs. Distribution Ray Howard suggested via telephone conferencing was that the products be "cold call marketed" so that stores acquiring the product would only order per their demand. Within 3M the demand was immediate! Ray Howard was supposed to receive 5% royalties per this agreement and 3M to date has not complied with what was a verbal agreement relayed through his proxies as represented in the main by Thomas Fitzmaurice of Yucaipa Ca.

A more recent innovation is software that partly mimics the behaviour of Post-it notes on the computer desktop. Most of the current proprietary or open source packages limit the placement or "adhesion" of the virtual note to a fixed spot over or on the desktop, and a few permit sharing the notes through the Internet. Recent efforts like Project Looking Glass or PtiMemo have striven towards features which give a virtual equivalence to the versatility of the tangible Post-it.

Post-It notes are available in a wide variety of sizes and formats. Standard pads have the adhesive stripe on one edge, like in book binding. In the mid 80's, 3M launched a fan-folded version of Post-It pads with the adhesive stripe on alternative sides. These pads can be installed on a dispenser and dispense one-at-a-time like disposable tissue.

Due to a halt in production in late 2005, the circular post it notes are now the hardest to find variety.

Pop culture

In 1993, Saturday Night Live featured a fake product called McIntosh Post-It Notes, a parody of the failed Apple Newton.
In the 1997 film Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, the two title characters attempt to re-invent themselves as successes to their former classmates by claiming to have invented Post-It notes.
In 2000 the 20th anniversary of Post-it notes was celebrated by having artists create their artwork on Post-it notes. One note that was made by artist R.B. Kitaj sold for $925 in an auction, making it the most valuable Post-it note in history.
In the 2003 film Bruce Almighty, Bruce makes all prayers materialize in the form of Post-It Notes, which cover every square inch of surface of the room he is in and everything in the room.
In the Showtime series Dead Like Me, Post-it notes are central to the plot of the show: the grim reapers receive their soul-taking assignments (first initial, last name, address, and estimated time of death) on Post-it notes. As a result, several characters are obsessed with Post-it notes.
In the sixth season of Sex and the City, lead character Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is dumped by her boyfriend when he scribbles a message on a Post-it note.
In the 2003 Brad Anderson film The Machinist, the lead character is eventually led to the reason behind his insomnia and weight loss by a game of Hangman played on a Post-it note.
Post-it brand is a sponsor of NASCAR and Roush Racing, currently backing the #06 team of Roush Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series.
A figure on the poster and cassette cover for the 1999 film Office Space is covered from head to toe in Post-it notes, many with various messages.
Musician Elliott Smith's (alleged) suicide note was written on a Post-It.
As a prank in The Office (UK), David Brent (Ricky Gervais) tells Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis) that he will have to sack her for stealing Post-it notes. The prank backfires when Dawn breaks down in tears.
In the cartoon show Ed, Edd n Eddy , Edd uses Post-it notes to remind himself to buy more Post-it notes.
Seen affixed to the video monitor of the TARDIS in the renewed UK series Doctor Who (2005 Season).

References

External links

-- Acrylate-copolymer microspheres formula
Post-it homepage
Post-it Sortable Cards
"Art Fry and the invention of Post-it notes"
BBC news article on 20th anniversary of Post-it notes
Message2All.com, virtual board on which visitors paste Post-it notes
A Post-it note Elvis on Flickr

Paper products | Writing paper | 3M brands

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Post-it note

History

Pop culture

See also

References

External links