Daily Uses

Hardly a day goes by that we are not affected by one of the many types of adhesive. We use them for everything from repairing broken or torn items to bonding materials as varied as metal, plastic, wood, paper, and so on. Did you get or mail a letter today? Both the stamp and the envelope have glue on them. How many post it notes do you use in your office? Everyone, including children as well as adults use adhesive all of the time. We glue, tape, stick, bond, seal, and so on and so on to make our lives better, more efficient and more organized. Here are some things that you might find interesting about those things we use to hold our lives together.

Since Early Civilization

If you think that adhesive is a fairly modern invention you are wrong. Since early civilization the inhabitants of Earth have used substances found in nature to stick things together. These include beeswax and resin, and glue made from animal bones, rubber, and animal skin. These substances are still used in some of the glues and pastes that we use today. This shows in part, how useful they are, but also how effective they are.

New Uses

But, with the increase in scientific knowledge and technology, now we are able to use more synthetic materials in our adhesive products. Masking tape was invented by Richard Drew as an answer to the problems that auto workers were having with painting the popular two-tone paint-jobs. The glue that they had to use was taking the paint off of the cars. He also invented what we call Scotch tape which is really cellulose tape.

Another recent invention is epoxy adhesive. When you want to bond two materials of different types together, such as metal and glass, regular glue will not work very well. But with epoxies, you can bond these things together quickly and easily. They also are able to bond non-porous materials easily. You can even use Super Glue, one of the more popular types of epoxy to seal cuts together instead of using stitches.

Post-it notes are one of the more recent uses for adhesive. You may or may not be familiar with the unlikely story of these now iconic pieces of society. At the 3M Company an employee invented glue which was not overly sticky, but unlike other types of adhesive, it maintained its sticky nature over long periods of time without drying out. They tried using for various purposes, to no avail. But, then one day, one of the company employees was trying to find a way to keep his bookmark from falling out of his book. He put on a little of this glue, and the rest is just history. Now they have replaced other adhesive materials like cellulose tape for posting all of those little reminder notes all over our cubicles and computer monitors.

Stay Safe

As always there are some precautions and instructions for how to safely use adhesive-especially glues. If you are working with children especially, you need to educate them on the proper use of glue and supervise their activities. They should not be trusted to use the more powerful types of glue like epoxies. The area where you are working should be clean and free from dust, dirt and debris, and you may want to put down newspaper or a protective cloth to keep it off the counter or work table. Follow all of the instructions on the glue packaging to ensure that it will work properly.