In 1930, Drew developed a transparent cellophane-based tape, dubbed Scotch Tape. This post has been republished with permission from TodayIFoundOut.com. 2 (Winter 1982): 811. The company developed more than 100 types of tape to solve war production problems, such as sealing and labeling parts. Christmas Magic for All Your Gifts, Using Scotch Brand Tapes and Sasheen Brand Ribbon. Competing company DuPont had just invented cellophane a moisture-proof packaging material used by bakers, grocers, and meatpackers to wrap their products in. Inventor of Scotch Tape - Creative Innovation Group Inc One of Drew's responsibilities at 3M was to deliver samples of sandpaper to local automotive shops for testing, where he often overheard workers who were painting complain about the problems with tape used for these paint jobs. Want to comment on this article? Yet the banjo-playing college dropout, born 120 years ago this Saturday, would go on to spend some four decades working at one of Americas largest multinationals, and would invent one of the best-selling and most iconic household products in history. So Drew and his assistants pressed on. The particulars are hard to pin down, but everyone seems to agree that Scotch tape, the now-famous brand, originated as a slur. Uncover the Chemistry in Everyday Life. History Timeline FAQs Importance Celebrate Related Scotch Tape Day is celebrated each year on January 31. 1961: 3M invents Scotch Magic Tape. The tapes left gummy residue that ruined the car's finish. November 23, 1876: Boss Tweed Turned Over to Authorities. And you repeat this procedure 10 or 20 times. It's said that while using this insufficiently sticky tape, a frustrated auto painter said: "Why so Scotch with the adhesive?" Scotch Tape | MNopedia In 1925, after two years of experimentation, he hit upon the winning formula a blend of cabinetmakers glue and glycerin. An auto painter struggles with a dual-tone paint job. The two-tone look was created by painting the car one color, applying a barrier of some sort to the painted portion, and then painting the next section. The first adhesive tape was made from linen thread and shellac. Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul MacKay, Neil. Transparent tape was not Drews first ingenious invention. So, in his time between selling sandpaper, the brash engineer set out to invent his new tape. The dark amber adhesive spoiled the look of the colorless, transparent cellophane. The Scots did not invent Scotch tape. Hes since been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame an elite group of innovators who made products that shape our world today. It was invented by a college dropout named Richard Drew from Minnesota who worked for a small sandpaper company founded in 1902 called Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, later known as 3M. John Borden, a 3M sales manager, took on the task. He and his team worked diligently, but after numerous attempts came up empty handed. American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks. As the Great Depression set in, 3Ms tapes conversely thrived: instead of purchasing new products in the economically bleak times, consumers enlisted Scotch tape to repair and restore broken items around the house. With the tapes success, Drew became technical director of 3Ms product-fabrication laboratory. July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman), December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan, December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans. Since cellophane was transparent, these sellers sought an attractive way to seal the wrapping. American Association of Chemistry Teachers, Reactions: Chemistry Science Videos & Infographics, Richard Drew Solves the Painters Problem with the Invention of Masking Tape. Drew, then an engineering student, had been putting himself through school by playing the banjo in several Twin Cities dance bands. He never discouraged people. It is so commonplace that it is easy to take for granted. In the 1920s, two-tone cars were trendy. ACS-Hach Programs Drews original patent illustration for adhesive tape, His boss, William McKnight, the same man whod initially ordered Drew to cease his inventing efforts, still didnt see the potential in this new tape, and refused to purchase a machine that would allow for its mass production. Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Drew and 3M release Scotch-brand cellulose (later cellophane) tape. They glued old newspapers to the body and windows with library pastes, homemade glues or surgical adhesive tape. 1939: Scotch Brand welcomes the "snail,"its iconic, handheld tape dispenser. His idea led to the invention of the Scotch brand tape product. So this all brings us back to how the term "Scotch" came to be associated with 3M's Masking and Cellulose tapes. In 1930, Dr. Richard G. Drew, an employee at 3M in Minnesota, created a breakthrough medical adhesive tape called Scotch Tape. In the early twenty-first century the company produced 5.5 million miles of tape every year, or 645 miles of tape per hour. He made a vow to the auto workers that hed soon return with a solution, and darted out of the shop. Today, Scotch Transparent Tape remains a mainstay of 3M's highly diversified, multibillion dollar global enterprise. Bakers and grocers were using cellophane as a moisture-proof packing material for their goods, but they needed an attractive way to seal it. After several years of experimentation, Richard Drew invents a line of masking tape designed to seal well but release cleanly. Resourcefulness is a core value at Scotch Brand. History Short: The English Riot Against Science and Reason! 3M, Scotch, and Post-it are trademarks of 3M Company. He didnt even know exactly what was needed, but he had the optimism of youth.. Tel: +86-755-84652668. | io9 Interview, Another version states that the painter said, The Invention Nobody Wanted That Became One of the Top Selling Office Products of All Time, A Brief History of the Ballpoint Pen and Whether NASA Really Spent Millions Developing a Pressurized Version Instead of Just Using Pencils, Super Glue was Invented by Accident, Twice. While there is some uncertainty about why the line of tape was dubbed Scotch, company legend says that the name came about during the tape's testing phase. Drew's serendipitous quest began in 1929, four years after the introduction of Scotch Brand Masking Tape. He and his team would file 30 patents, for inventions from face masks to reflective sheeting for road signs. So Drew and his team of inventors worked to create a tape that used this clear cellophane as a backing. But stick with us: this gets interesting! Drew continued experimenting, and in 1930 his waterproof transparent cellulose tape arrived, called Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape. People used Scotch tape for everything from mending ripped clothing to capping milk bottles to fixing the shells of broken chicken eggs. http://www.mnopedia.org/thing/scotch-tape (accessed July 17, 2023). Send questions or comments to mnopediamnhs [dot] org. 1941 - 1945: During World War II, almost all tape production is diverted to the war effort. Are they waterproof or weather proof? Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Goodyear used the tape to cover the inner ribs and beams of its dirigibles, creating an anti-corrosive shield.. In 1925, 3M released Drew's invention: the Scotch-brand masking tape. Still, the product, originally called Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape and later renamed Scotch Transparent Tape, appeared to face an uncertain future. Scotch was a pejorative meaning cheap or stingy. The Scotch brand has also been applied by 3M to various other products, such as audio and video tape. The new tape was frosty on the roll, but it nearly disappeared when applied. Richard Drew never wanted an office job. Good Press, 2021. The amber glue that looked fine on crepe-backed masking tape was hideous on transparent cellophane. One version of the story claims that the painter asked "Why so Scotch with the adhesive?" The team ultimately invented new clear adhesive and modified machinery to handle the cellophane. Born Richard Gurley Drew in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1899, Drew spent a year at the University . Rubber cement, he knew, had the necessary properties: it was sticky, yet one could peel it off a surface fairly easily. Subscribe for new videos every day! Scotchgard is a 3M brand of products, a stain and durable water repellent applied to fabric, furniture, and carpets to protect them from stains. It didnt take long for people to put the new tape to other imaginative uses. A Chemical History of 3M. A problem arose when cars needed to be painted in two tones and sections needed to be taped off to do so. The adhesive was amber-colored, which ruined the cellophanes transparency. This post was written byZachary Crockett. Borden's dispenser became a key element in the growing market for cellophane tape. "Then you fold the tape in half and stick it to the flakes on top and split them again. 3M's Scotch-brand masking tape and cellophane tape were small inventions that started a consumer revolution. Subscribe for new videos every day! More than 100 different types of Scotch tapes had been developed to meet wartime requirements. The reward for persistence is internal, he writes. But he only lasted 18 months in the engineering program. The name "Scotch" itself has an origin story almost as interesting as the invention of Scotch tape. The ACS takes your privacy seriously as it relates to cookies. All pressure-sensitive tapes share two common, but deceptively simple, traits: They all have some sort of adhesive attached to a backing. Scotch tape was the worlds first transparent adhesive tape. Scotch tape is also honored by a leading consumer magazine as one of the "50 small wonders and big deals that revolutionized the lives of consumers.". They allegedly told Drew to take his Scotch tape back to the drawing board, using the term to mean cheap, a derogatory dig at stereotypical Scottish thriftiness. ), Stories of Minnesota's Greatest Generation, Stories of LGBTQ Communities in Minnesota, Teaching Native American History and Culture, Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported, http://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/scotch-brand/faqs/, http://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_US/scotch-brand/about/, http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00281.xml, http://invent.org/inductee-detail/?IID=329, 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company). He allowed his lab team to freely follow their instincts. Goetz, Kathryn. St. Paul: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 1977. Scotch Tape - Wikipedia Drews resulting product Scotch Brand Masking Tape was an instant success, and immediately changed the way paint jobs of all sorts were completed. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement. https://www.youtube.com/user/TodayIFoundOut?sub_confirmation=1How \"Dick\" came to be short for 'Richard': https://youtu.be/BH1NAwwKtcg?list=PLR0XuDegDqP2Acy6g9Ta7hzC0Rr3RDS6qNever run out of things to say at the water cooler with TodayIFoundOut! Included are chalkboard tape and dry erase tape that allow you to write, erase, and rewrite in chalk or dry erase marker on any surface without the mess of sprays and special primers. Invariably, the loose end would curl back into place on the roll, become virtually invisible, and hard to locate. Rubber shortages during the war prompted 3M to switch to synthetic acrylate adhesives. Once free, the tape didn't stay that way for long. I'll Buy That! In early versions of the tape, some say, Drew applied only minimal adhesive to avoid over sticking. Drew also held no stock in an applicants educational background. The story of Scotch tape is one of incredible determination and risk-taking and its invention was thanks to a banjo-playing, college-dropout, misfit engineer who believed in his ability to invent. The tape took advantage of newly invented cellophane, but the material wasnt easy to work with, often splitting or tearing in the machine. Minnesota Historical Society 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 (Map) 651-259-3000 var now = new Date();document.write(now.getFullYear()); MNHS. The name Scotch itself has an origin story almost as interesting as the invention of Scotch tape.Want the text version? In 1921, 3M hired three men to oversee product innovation a move that the company itself cites as one of the most harmonic convergences in the annals of business. Among the men was one Richard Drew. In 1925 this became the Scotch brand masking tape. 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA |service@acs.org|1-800-333-9511 (US and Canada) | 614-447-3776 (outside North America), Copyright 2023 American Chemical Society. Description: Collection of product advertising and production materials, including Scotch Tape. Housewives used it to cap canned milk, remove lint from clothing, secure bait on mousetraps, and repair cracked ceiling plaster. For a year, Drew and his team embarked on a challenging mission to produce a tape with clear, cellophane backing. After various pursuits, a clear tape was created from oils, resins, and rubber and it was completely see-through. Occupation. Scotch Transparent Tape. Though todays consumers recognize 3M as a manufacturer of sandpaper, tape, and other adhesives, the company initially attempted to break into a completely different market. From there, it took him two years of experimentation with different types of adhesives that he applied to a crepe paper backing to come up with the right combination. It was hard to conduct experiments.. Advertising Notice In 1980, at age 81, Richard Drew passed away. (Drew) could back his promise with neither experience nor know-how, later recalled one overseer at 3M. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Drew received a patent for his masking tape in 1930. | In fact, like most well-known product names, the tape got its name quite by accident. Who invented scotch tape? | Office for Science and Society - McGill More details. In 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Yet despite his many successes, which led to his 2007 induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Drew never forgot how a bit of sandpaper changed his life. He felt that even if you flunked kindergarten, if you stayed in motion, youd get things done, later said Ted Flipper Buchholtz. Learn the history behind agriculture innovations, tractors, cotton gins, reapers, plows, plant patents and more. We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary. It was invented by a college dropout named Richard Drew from Minnesota who worked for a small sandpaper company. A 3M chemist named Richard G. Drew rose to the challenge of developing such a product. Back in the 20s, Scotch was a synonym for cheap. Richard Drew, a 23-year-old research assistant at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, was trying to create a sticky-but-not-too-sticky adhesive tape for auto painters to use on two-tone paint jobs. 1961: Scotch Magic Tape is launched. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday. The 50 Small Wonders and Big Deals that Revolutionized the Lives of Consumers. Table of Contents: A History of the World, A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators, Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive, Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles, Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. A plasticizer is added to the cellulose acetate, which is then formed into sheets of film. More than just transparent, the matte finish tape is virtually invisible on light-colored paper and can be written on with pen, pencil, or marker. Although not as strong, acrylate adhesives retained their clarity and actually aged better than rubber-based adhesives, which turned yellow and brittle over time. (1980-12-14) (aged 81) Santa Barbara, California, U.S. Drew and his team went on to invent adhesive-coating machines and a new, colorless adhesive. I could purchase stuff and build things, and the engineering department agreed to a hands-off policy., Dick created an environment where people were always encouraged, adds another ex-employee. Richard Drew embodied the essential spirit of the inventor, a person of vision and unrelenting persistence who refused to give in to adversity, said 3M executive Larry Wendling at Drews induction. The Invention of Scotch Tape - Today I Found Out His Scotch Transparent Tape remains the crown jewel of 3Ms immense, multi-billion dollar product line, and can be found in nearly 90% of American homes. In an era when thrift wasn't just a virtue, but a necessity, Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape virtually sold itself. A vicious cycle would ensue of taping, painting, re-taping, and re-painting. But their reputation for thriftiness did inspire the name of this amazing product. Housewives, bankers, farmers and factory workers used it to mend and make do, inventing uses faster than they could tear off transparent strips with the handy snail-shaped dispenser. After seeing the problem, Drew had the idea to create a new tape. Scotch Transparent Tape has: served as an anti-corrosive shield on the Goodyear blimp; covered cracks in the soft shells of fertilized pigeon and turkey eggs which then hatched; and repaired airplane rudders. It took them almost a year to produce a marketable product, including what some would recall as "the longest and most discouraging months in 3M's history." Nonetheless, despite missing their original target market and being released during the Great Depression, the Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape thrived with various home uses. Its made from cast iron and weighs almost 7 pounds. : http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/12/scotch-tape-invented-scottish/Sources:http://www.mnopedia.org/thing/invention-scotch-tape-1930http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/magazine/who-made-that-scotch-tape.html?_r=1http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/scotchtape.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/32432-who-invented-scotch-tape.htmlhttp://www.scotchbrand.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ScotchBrand/Scotch/Resources/History/Timeline/http://www.minnesotainventors.org/inductees/richard-g-drew.htmlhttp://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_scotchtape.htmhttp://www.msthalloffame.org/richard_drew.htmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3043098.stmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scotch_Tape.jpgImage Credit:https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-68027836/stock-photo-packaging-parcels-with-dispenser-close-uphttps://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-135257447/stock-vector-hand-drawing-light-bulb-idea-vector-illustrationhttps://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-170056136/stock-photo-green-scotch-on-a-crashed-bamper-of-a-carhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scotch_Tape.jpghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysler_Imperial_E80_Touring_1926.jpghttps://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/15172164441http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=78252\u0026picture=crumpled-cellophaneMusic from Jukedeck - create your own at http://jukedeck.com. Cellophane had recently been invented by DuPont and was being used by grocers and bakers as a neat way to package their groceries. There was complete freedom to build and do, recalls John Pearson, who once worked under Drew. Every year its manufacturer, 3M, sells enough of it to circle Earth 165 times. In the end, Drews team had to design not only new machines to handle the cellophane but also a new colorless adhesive made from oil, resins and rubber. Still, Drew hardly seemed like an innovator. How the Invention of Scotch Tape Led to a Revolution in How Companies So, Drew designed his own machinery that treated the delicate tape more sensitively. However, there wasn't a good way to seal the cellophane with tape because the colored backing ruined the clear look. "Bright Ideas." This early form of tape was sold under the brand name "Stickum.". Instead, he turned to the local classified ads, saw a listing for a job at 3M, and decided, on a whim, to go for it, complete with a quintessential application letter: I have not as yet been employed in commercial work and am eager to get started. But he realized that as a sandpaper manufacturer, 3M had access to many of the necessary components: after all, creating sandpaper required a sticky surface to which the minerals would be applied. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. The dark amber adhesive spoiled the look of the colorless, transparent cellophane.. The backing of this reinforced tape consists of two layers of paper with a cross-pattern of fiberglass . Connect with our social network, Keep up-to-date with Hamdey to get our latest products, tech tips and industry news. It's been used for everything from wrapping gifts to protecting blimps. Drew walked into an auto body shop one day and heard the "choicest profanity I'd ever known" coming from frustrated workers. 1932: 3M's John Borden designs the first heavy-duty tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade. Edit. St. Paul: 3M Company, 2002. Eventually, the company sent Drew out to local auto shops, who were 3Ms most frequent customers at the time, to disseminate the sandpapers for testing. Finally, the surface of the film is treated to give it a matte finish. His new tape was called Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape. Unfortunately, the machinery that 3M used in order to apply the adhesive to the cellophane backing tore the material, and the glue that worked for the masking tape appeared amber on the clear cellophane. But because i wasn't, when i got home i jumped on the internet to find the real reason behind the brand name. Scotch Tape and Inventor Richard Drew - ThoughtCo When Was Tape Invented? [Who, Where & How] - Nevada Inventors The new dispenser features a modernized, sophisticated shape that conforms to the hand, improving comfort and ease of use. Scotch Double-Sided Tape, coated with adhesive on both sides, joins the transparent tape family during this time. Sellotape (/ s l t e p /) is a British brand of transparent, polypropylene-based, pressure-sensitive tape, and is the leading brand in the United Kingdom.Sellotape is generally used for joining, sealing, attaching and mending. But serendipity was once again at play because Scotch tape turned out to have many valuable uses to people who were struggling during the Depression. DK, 2018. E-mail: marketing@hamdey.com Despite the name, Scotch tape wasn't invented by the Scottish. So he promised a better solution. We exist to help people discover the magic of being hands on. View our Privacy Policy. When Richard Drew brought the prototype of adhesive tape to the studio, and it cringed after painting, the . (May 2018) In 1930, Richard Drew, a 3M engineer, developed the first transparent sticky tape in St. Paul, Minnesota with material known as cellophane. Drew, now technical director of 3M's Product Fabrication Laboratory, plunged in. As Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist and author of Stuff Matters, says: As soon as you have a clear film thats flexible and transparent, all kinds of things become possible., A version of this article appears in print on, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/magazine/who-made-that-scotch-tape.html. It was a brash pledge since, as one historian noted, "(Drew) could back this promise with neither experience nor know-how. Secretaries found it perfect for patching broken fingernails. In 1925, 3M releases its Scotch brand of masking tape, the first product in the line of Scotch-brand tapes that would make the company famous. The History of Scotch Tape | HAMDEY By the early 1920s, two-toned cars were the rage, and that created a major headache for the automotive industry. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/scotchtape.html (accessed Month Day, Year). Although DuPont invented a way to heat seal cellophane packages shortly thereafter, making the tape redundant, Scotch Tape had already found a niche in the American home. That same year, Drew came out with his waterproof transparent tape after months of work. National Inventors Hall of Fame. When the tape was removed, it would often take with it chips of the freshly-coated paint. The name "Scotch" itself has an origin story almost as interesting as the invention of Scotch tape. The problem facing Richard (Dick) G. Drew, a 23-year-old 3M research assistant, was a big one. Comments ( 15) Despite the name, Scotch tape wasn't invented by the Scottish. The tape was released just as America plunged into the Great Depression, a time when mend and make do became a motto for many. William McKnight, the executive who told Drew to stop working on Scotch tape, eventually became chairman of 3Ms board. But his first version of masking tape only had adhesive on the edges. Encourage experimental doodling, McKnight said. So prevalent and iconic did the Scotch Tape brand become, that virtually all transparent tape sold in the US today is commonly referred to as Scotch Tape, regardless of the actual brand or manufacturer. 2007: Richard Drew inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. You can follow him onTwitterhere. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Inventions: A Visual Encyclopedia. A thin coating of pressure-sensitive adhesive is metered onto the film and dried. [2] Drew's inspiration came from watching auto-engineers try to achieve smooth paintings on two-color cars. Hundreds of letters poured in from customers complaining that the ground up minerals werent adhering to the sandpaper. Find a chemistry community of interest and connect on a local and global level. He once asked rhetorically. The Scotch tape story is now a classic business school lesson, a parable of the value of instinct and serendipity, which Drew once called, "the gift of finding something valuable in something not even sought out.".

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