To Post-it or Not to Post-it

To Post-it or Not to Post-it

by Kirsten Tyree on September 5, 2013

Even in the conservation lab of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, land of acid-free bookmarks and conservation-grade adhesives, I recently found myself looking high and low for a practical Post-it note. It was the perfect way to temporarily label a jar of adhesive for one day's use, instead of cutting out a small piece of paper and taping it to the jar. So much extra work! Created around 1960 by Art Fry and Silver Spencer (legend has it that they were trying to create a strong, durable adhesive but kept making this weak low-tack adhesive by accident), the humble Post-it note is now a fixture of office culture. So simple and easy to use, what is there not to love about them?!

read more

Visitors’ doodle images of spacesuits and astronauts at the Columbia Memorial Space Museum, Downey, California, May 18, 2012, Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service.