#officesupplies — Public Fediverse posts

Post-it Notes: the glue failure that turned into a desk essential

Dear Cherubs, the Post-it Note did not arrive like a grand corporate triumph. It arrived like a lab mistake that lingered long enough to become useful, which is basically how half of human progress gets dressed up after the fact. In 1968, 3M scientist Spencer Silver was trying to make a stronger adhesive, but instead produced one with tiny spheres that stuck lightly and could be peeled apart again.

THE ACCIDENT

That is the charming part: Silver did not invent “super glue” so much as he invented the opposite of disappointment in a bottle. The adhesive was too weak for the job he originally wanted, but it had a strange talent for sticking without making a mess, and 3M kept the idea alive while it looked for a real use. Because apparently even failures need a business plan.

Then Art Fry stepped in with the kind of everyday irritation that changes history. In 1974, Fry was singing in his church choir and fed up with bookmarks falling out of his hymnal, so he tried Silver’s adhesive on paper and built a bookmark that stayed put, peeled off cleanly, and did not ruin the page. Not exactly a thunderbolt from the heavens, but it was close enough for stationery.

From there, the idea quietly grew teeth. 3M spent years refining the product and manufacturing process, because apparently even a sticky note needs a long runway before the world agrees it was inevitable. The company test-marketed the removable notes as Press ’n Peel in 1977 in four cities, then relaunched them nationally in 1980 under the Post-it name.

THE COMEBACK

By the time Post-it Notes hit the mainstream, they had become the sort of object people stop noticing precisely because they use them constantly. According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Post-it Notes later ranked among the five best-selling office products in the U.S., which is a decent reward for an invention that started out by refusing to behave.

That is the real plot twist: the world did not need a perfect glue. It needed a polite one. The sticky little square won because it solved a tiny human problem with almost annoying elegance, and that is often how the best ideas work. As noted by thisclaimer.com, the best origin stories are the ones that sound like a failure until the market shows up and politely proves everyone wrong.

So, yes, the Post-it story is basically a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks a failed experiment is the end of the road. Sometimes it is just the opening scene. The office supply aisle owes a lot to one weak adhesive, one annoyed choir singer, and one very patient company willing to let a weird idea sit around until it became indispensable.

Sources:
3M — https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/consumer-us/stories/full-story/?storyid=e9f444d3-a5c5-46f1-a34b-082ff275aa7d
3M history — https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/about-3m/history/
National Inventors Hall of Fame: Spencer Silver — https://www.invent.org/inductees/spencer-silver
National Inventors Hall of Fame: Art Fry — https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/art-fry-post-it-notes
History.com — https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-6/post-it-notes-debut
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com
Wikimedia Commons image — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PostItNotePad.JPG

Thank you to the buyer who purchased a 55 Chevy Headlight 3 Ring Binder https://www.zazzle.com/55_chevy_headlight_3_ring_binder-127273682997021984 via @zazzle
#classiccars #zazzlemade #officesupplies #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased a 55 Chevy Headlight 3 Ring Binder https://www.zazzle.com/55_chevy_headlight_3_ring_binder-127273682997021984 via @zazzle
#classiccars #zazzlemade #officesupplies #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased a 55 Chevy Headlight 3 Ring Binder https://www.zazzle.com/55_chevy_headlight_3_ring_binder-127273682997021984 via @zazzle
#classiccars #zazzlemade #officesupplies #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased a 55 Chevy Headlight 3 Ring Binder https://www.zazzle.com/55_chevy_headlight_3_ring_binder-127273682997021984 via @zazzle
#classiccars #zazzlemade #officesupplies #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased a 55 Chevy Headlight 3 Ring Binder https://www.zazzle.com/55_chevy_headlight_3_ring_binder-127273682997021984 via @zazzle
#classiccars #zazzlemade #officesupplies #buyintoart

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

I think pencils like it a little too much when they get sharpened . #random #pencils #officesupplies #facts

I think pencils like it a little too much when they get sharpened . #random #pencils #officesupplies #facts

I think pencils like it a little too much when they get sharpened . #random #pencils #officesupplies #facts

I think pencils like it a little too much when they get sharpened . #random #pencils #officesupplies #facts

I think pencils like it a little too much when they get sharpened . #random #pencils #officesupplies #facts

Susan Ross would still be alive if she had had one of these Sengbusch Sanitouch Moisteners.

Art by Neilan Lund.

#vintage #blotters #inkblotters #advertising #officesupplies

Susan Ross would still be alive if she had had one of these Sengbusch Sanitouch Moisteners.

Art by Neilan Lund.

#vintage #blotters #inkblotters #advertising #officesupplies

Susan Ross would still be alive if she had had one of these Sengbusch Sanitouch Moisteners.

Art by Neilan Lund.

#vintage #blotters #inkblotters #advertising #officesupplies

Susan Ross would still be alive if she had had one of these Sengbusch Sanitouch Moisteners.

Art by Neilan Lund.

#vintage #blotters #inkblotters #advertising #officesupplies

Guysssss you need to see this one! Awww. #cute #officeSupplies #novelty_office_supplies

Sex tape.

#meme #memes #shitpost #tape #scotch #tapes #funny #number #clear #scotchtape #officesupplies #office

Sex tape.

#meme #memes #shitpost #tape #scotch #tapes #funny #number #clear #scotchtape #officesupplies #office

Sex tape.

#meme #memes #shitpost #tape #scotch #tapes #funny #number #clear #scotchtape #officesupplies #office

Sex tape.

#meme #memes #shitpost #tape #scotch #tapes #funny #number #clear #scotchtape #officesupplies #office

Sex tape.

#meme #memes #shitpost #tape #scotch #tapes #funny #number #clear #scotchtape #officesupplies #office

https://www.landingstream.com/shop/
Keep your workspace clean, organized, and spill-free ☕📎
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Magnetic Clip Dealers

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Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”  

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily. 

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use. 

Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”  

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily. 

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use. 

Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”  

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily. 

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use. 

Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”  

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily. 

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use. 

Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”  

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily. 

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use. 

📎 Oh, the #nostalgia of Clippy—a relentless paperclip that helped you with WordArt while somehow managing to not sell your data to Big Tech. If only trillion-dollar companies could stop treating our data like a buffet and start acting more like an animated office supply from the '90s! 🙄 #ThrowbackTechThursday
https://be-clippy.com/ #Clippy #ThrowbackTech #DataPrivacy #OfficeSupplies #HackerNews #ngated

📎 Oh, the #nostalgia of Clippy—a relentless paperclip that helped you with WordArt while somehow managing to not sell your data to Big Tech. If only trillion-dollar companies could stop treating our data like a buffet and start acting more like an animated office supply from the '90s! 🙄 #ThrowbackTechThursday
https://be-clippy.com/ #Clippy #ThrowbackTech #DataPrivacy #OfficeSupplies #HackerNews #ngated

📎 Oh, the #nostalgia of Clippy—a relentless paperclip that helped you with WordArt while somehow managing to not sell your data to Big Tech. If only trillion-dollar companies could stop treating our data like a buffet and start acting more like an animated office supply from the '90s! 🙄 #ThrowbackTechThursday
https://be-clippy.com/ #Clippy #ThrowbackTech #DataPrivacy #OfficeSupplies #HackerNews #ngated

📎 Oh, the #nostalgia of Clippy—a relentless paperclip that helped you with WordArt while somehow managing to not sell your data to Big Tech. If only trillion-dollar companies could stop treating our data like a buffet and start acting more like an animated office supply from the '90s! 🙄 #ThrowbackTechThursday
https://be-clippy.com/ #Clippy #ThrowbackTech #DataPrivacy #OfficeSupplies #HackerNews #ngated

Thank you to the buyer who purchased some Morning Light At Willis Address Labels https://www.zazzle.com/morning_light_at_willis_label-106233825616117675 via @zazzle
#zazzlemade #officesupplies #homeoffice #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased some Morning Light At Willis Address Labels https://www.zazzle.com/morning_light_at_willis_label-106233825616117675 via @zazzle
#zazzlemade #officesupplies #homeoffice #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased some Morning Light At Willis Address Labels https://www.zazzle.com/morning_light_at_willis_label-106233825616117675 via @zazzle
#zazzlemade #officesupplies #homeoffice #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased some Morning Light At Willis Address Labels https://www.zazzle.com/morning_light_at_willis_label-106233825616117675 via @zazzle
#zazzlemade #officesupplies #homeoffice #buyintoart

Thank you to the buyer who purchased some Morning Light At Willis Address Labels https://www.zazzle.com/morning_light_at_willis_label-106233825616117675 via @zazzle
#zazzlemade #officesupplies #homeoffice #buyintoart

NY Mets owner Steve Cohen donates over $1M to city teachers following Post report https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/387423/ #Baseball #DepartmentOfEducation #Donations #Fundraising #Metro #Mets #MLB #NewYork #NewYorkCity #NewYorkMets #NewYork #NewYorkMets #OfficeSupplies #SteveCohen #teachers #USNews

NY Mets owner Steve Cohen donates over $1M to city teachers following Post report https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/387423/ #Baseball #DepartmentOfEducation #Donations #Fundraising #Metro #Mets #MLB #NewYork #NewYorkCity #NewYorkMets #NewYork #NewYorkMets #OfficeSupplies #SteveCohen #teachers #USNews

Oh hell yeah, my step mom offered to get me like 30-40 bucks worth of school supplies to celebrate the end of my first term with grades about as high as they possibly can be (my lowest right now is a 98). Gonna spend the #NASCAR race browsing Amazon for exclusively pens cause I go through them fast which is always the downside to preferring bold gel ink.

#officesupplies #schoolsupplies #pens

Oh hell yeah, my step mom offered to get me like 30-40 bucks worth of school supplies to celebrate the end of my first term with grades about as high as they possibly can be (my lowest right now is a 98). Gonna spend the #NASCAR race browsing Amazon for exclusively pens cause I go through them fast which is always the downside to preferring bold gel ink.

#officesupplies #schoolsupplies #pens

Oh hell yeah, my step mom offered to get me like 30-40 bucks worth of school supplies to celebrate the end of my first term with grades about as high as they possibly can be (my lowest right now is a 98). Gonna spend the #NASCAR race browsing Amazon for exclusively pens cause I go through them fast which is always the downside to preferring bold gel ink.

#officesupplies #schoolsupplies #pens

Oh hell yeah, my step mom offered to get me like 30-40 bucks worth of school supplies to celebrate the end of my first term with grades about as high as they possibly can be (my lowest right now is a 98). Gonna spend the #NASCAR race browsing Amazon for exclusively pens cause I go through them fast which is always the downside to preferring bold gel ink.

#officesupplies #schoolsupplies #pens

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