8th Grade Inventor Research 2014

Dr. Harry Coover, inventor of Super Glue, passed away on March 26, 2011 at his home in Kingsport, Tennessee.  According to Elizabeth A.  Harris with The New York Times, Dr. Coover’s daughter, Dr. Melinda Paul, confirmed that Harry Wesley Coover was born on March 6, 1917 (not 1919 as some reports state) making him 94 years old when he passed away this weekend.

April marks the 30th anniversary of the Post-it Note.

It all began in 1968 when scientist Spencer Silver discovered a unique adhesive that would not only stick to surfaces, but could also be repositioned. Then along came Silver's colleague, Art Fry, who was having trouble keeping his bookmark in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. So Fry applied the adhesive to create a bookmark, soon realizing he had found a new way to mark the spot, so to speak.

My love affair with the Post-it stems from the fact I'm a habitual listmaker. There are lists on the kitchen counter. Lists at my desk. Lists everywhere. This doesn't mean that my life is any more organized, but I think it is, and that's all that matters. I even cross things off my lists on occasion. Nothing gives me more pleasure. I sometimes even put something on a list and cross it off immediately, just to feel that satisfaction. I know that's a form of cheating, but I don't care. It works for me. For the past 30 years, my lists have been on Post-its. What I love about them is that they know their place. Post-its don't wander. The stay put, which is the whole point. (I also stick with Canary Yellow Post-its. Always the traditionalist.)