Another modern invention we owe to a happy accident is Post-it™ Notes, those small
pieces of notepaper that can be stuck and unstuck again and again. In 1970, Spencer Silver
was working in a research laboratory, trying to create a strong adhesive. He created a new
adhesive that stuck to objects, but it could also easily be lifted off them. Because the adhesive
was so weak, Silver considered it a failure. He shouldn’t have. A few years later, a co-worker of
Silver’s was looking in a book. He used scraps of paper to keep his place in the book, but the scraps
kept falling out. Remembering Silver’s invention, the co-worker put some of the adhesive on the scraps.
It was perfect! The scraps stayed in place, but came off easily so they didn’t damage the book. Post-it
Notes were introduced in 1980, and quickly became an essential offi ce product around the world.
All of these stories show that accidents are not always a bad thing, and that not all mistakes should
automatically be discarded. Instead, perhaps we should take a closer look at our accidents and mistakes. They just may
reveal the solutions to a problem, or pave the way to an extraordinary new idea.