Ornithologists Have Used Scotch Tape To Cover Cracks In Eggs Allowing Them To Hatch

Observed annually on May 27th is National Cellophane Tape Day. It is hard to imagine where we would be without this invention. How would we wrap our Christmas and birthday gifts?

This everyday household and office item, which is also known as invisible tape or Scotch Tape, was invented by Richard Gurley Drew (June 22, 1899 – December 14, 1980).  Drew joined the 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1920, first inventing the masking tape in 1926, followed by the invention of the cellophane tape in 1930.   

Originally designed to seal Cellophane packages sold in grocers and bakeries, the new adhesive missed its mark. By the time all its drawbacks were resolved, DuPont introduced heat-sealed cellophane.

Regardless, with a resounding endorsement from customers, 3M found a market in both the home and the office.

• In the mid-1920s, two-toned cars were all the rage. The problem was that the painters could not make super crisp and straight lines in the paint jobs. Richard Drew of the 3M company came to solve the problem. He is the inventor of masking tape.
  Drew’s prototype was only sticky on less than half of the reverse side and he faced criticism from the painters. They told Drew to “Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!” and the name was born
• Remove a splinter by covering it with adhesive tape for three days.  When you pull the tape off, the splinter should come out with it.
• Stop ants in their tracks by surrounding the track with tape’s sticky side up.
• Remove gunk from a comb by pressing a strip of tape along the comb’s length and lifting it off.  Then dip the comb in a solution of alcohol and water to sanitize it.  Let it dry.
• Prevent your furniture from leaving marks on your wood floor by wrapping the furniture’s caster wheels with tape.
• Adhesive tape has just the right texture for wrapping tool handles.  It gives you a comfortable grip and won’t become slippery if your hand sweats.
• After cows ate the resin-coated fabric on the rudder section of a 1946 Taylor craft airplane, the plane’s owner, Edward Bridwell, used Scotch Tape to repair it.
• Ornithologists have used Scotch Tape to cover cracks in the soft shells of fertilized pigeon eggs, allowing the eggs to hatch.
• Landlords in Bangkok, Thailand, have used Scotch Tape to repair cracks in the walls of tenants’ apartments.
• Because the end of Scotch Tape tends to stick to the roll, camouflaged by its transparency, John A. Borden, a 3M sales manager, invented the tape dispenser with a ledge to keep the end of tape away from the roll and incorporating a serrated edge
  to cut the tape.
• During the Depression, banks first used Scotch Tape to mend torn currency.
• During World War II, 3M stopped selling Scotch Tape to civilians because the military wanted it all. At least one American munitions factory used transparent tape as a conveyor belt to move bullets.
• During World War II, England’s Ministry of Wacky Uses Defense used more than ten million yards on windows to minimize flying glass during air raids.
• In 1961, 3M engineers perfected the tape so it would never yellow or ooze adhesive. Scotch Magic Transparent Tape, with its matte finish backing, disappears when applied. It’s water resistant and you can write on it.
• Scotch Tape has been used as an anti-corrosive shield on the Goodyear Blimp.
• The Scottish tartans used to designate Scotch Tape were exclusively designed for the 3M Company by New York color consultant Arthur Allen in the 1940s.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Wacky Uses

Minding Your Matters