Adrian Northrup

Even big companies like 3M make mistakes sometimes. But, according to author Charlotte Jones, when Spencer Silver attempted to design a strong adhesive in 1968 and it resulted in creating a weak one, he had no idea that his mistake would turn into a widely used office supply.

Junior Dan Hogan said he loves Post-it notes and uses them at least once a week.
“I use them for notes to remind myself to do something,” he said.

The Post-it note is manufactured by 3M and is basically a piece of three inch by three inch paper with a re-applicable strip of adhesive on the back.

The adhesive was first utilized in the current Post-it note form by a colleague of Silver’s named Arthur Fry. In 1974, Fry used the adhesive to create bookmarks that wouldn’t fall out.

According to Jones it wasn’t until 1977 that Post-its were available, and by 1981 the product had been introduced all around the world.

Junior David Crye also uses the handy notes to remind himself to do things because he is a forgetful person, he said.

“I have a pad of them on my desk at all times,” he said. “Most of the time I use them after I go to bed and as I’m falling asleep I remember that I need to do something the next day so I have to get out of bed and jot it down before I forget.”

The names “Post-it,” as well as “Post-it note,” are all trademarked by 3M. Even the color canary yellow is a trademark of 3M according to Jones.

The glue used for the Post-It has since fallen into public domain and other companies produce similar products, which in turn lowered costs for the little notes.

As the digital age approached, 3M wanted to get on board with Post-its and developed a Post-it note program for a computer desktop. The program is called “Post-it Digital Notes” and is more than just a piece of paper for the digital age.

The program itself allows you to color code your notes, add pictures, set alarms, search notes, maintain multiple tabbed memoboards to sort notes by home tasks, key dates or appointments, kids’ activities and whatever else you need, according to 3M’s Web site.

The program itself costs $19.99 off of the Web site and is available for a free 30-day trial as well.

Junior John Nielsen uses the physical notes as well as the computer program for writing down Bible verses, he said.

“I have the Post-it note computer program,” he said. “And happen to love it.”