Post-it Notes first sold

On April 6, 1980, 3M begins sales of Post-it Notes. The canary yellow sticky pads quickly become one of the best-selling office supply products in history and a ubiquitous staple in schools and offices around the world.

No, Post-it Notes were not invented by the title characters in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, but by 3M scientists Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry. In 1968, Silver was working as a 3M research chemist when he developed an unusual adhesive made of tiny acrylic spheres—sticky enough to hold papers together, but weak enough to peel away cleanly and be reused. Because the microspheres touched surfaces at only a few points, the adhesive retained its tack even after repeated use.

For years, 3M struggled to find a practical consumer use. A prototype bulletin board coated with the adhesive failed when dust and dirt reduced its sticking power. Silver’s creation remained a solution in search of a problem—until Fry, a 3M product development specialist, found one.

While singing in his church choir, Fry grew frustrated when the paper bookmarks he used kept slipping out of his hymnal. Recalling Silver’s adhesive from a company seminar, he realized it could anchor a bookmark without damaging the page. Soon, colleagues began using the sticky slips to write notes and reminders, revealing a far broader use. “I thought what we have here isn’t just a bookmark,” Fry later said. “It’s a whole new way to communicate.”

After test-marketing the product as “Press ’n Peel” in four cities in 1977, 3M rebranded and launched “Post-it Notes” nationwide three years later. They quickly caught on. “It was always a self-advertising product,” Fry said. People “would look at it, peel it off and play with it, and then go out and buy a pad for themselves.”

Today, Post-it Notes remain one of 3M’s most recognizable products. For their sticky creation, Fry and Silver were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010.