The invention of the humble post-it note came about by chance as a result of a collaboration between second-rate science and frustrated churchgoers.

 

 

In 1970, Spencer Silver, a researcher for the large American company 3M, tried to create a particularly strong adhesive. Instead, he merely invented a weak adhesive that could be easily removed. He promoted this invention within his company, but nobody was interested.

 

4 years later, Arthur Fry, a 3M colleague and church choir member, was infuriated by the fact that the notes he was putting in his hymn book to mark certain passages kept falling out when he opened the book. During a Holy Mass, Spencer remembered Silver's work and had an epiphany. He applied Silver's weak and non-damaging adhesive to his bookmarks and found that these sticky notes worked fantastically. He sold his idea to 3M. Marketing began in 1977 and today it's hard to imagine life without sticky notes.