Postit Note Dominance
today
i am going to talk to you about
something you will have
all heard of something most of you will
have used before
and that many of you may even use on a
daily basis
can you guess what i’m referring to
let me give you a hint they usually come
in packs of 100 generally are
square-shaped
and most importantly they’re known
and recognized for their neon colors
if you thought of post-it notes
congratulations
you would be right indeed today i’m
going to tell you the story
of how post-it notes accidentally came
to be
when the post-it was released in 1980
its inventor was so confident in its
triumph
he claimed it spread and i quote
like a virus we all know
unfortunately how fast and unrelenting
that truly is
but rather than leave in its wake a
trail of fear
and of anguish post-it notes brightened
up our world
both literally and metaphorically
typically when the topic of accidental
and yet brilliant inventions is brought
about
post-it notes aren’t exactly what come
to mind
what many people don’t realize however
is that the humble post-it note has
indirectly changed the lives of many
with millions of us around the world
subconsciously relying on those genius
colorful little squares
for countless mundane things
now here’s a question for you
how many post-its do you think are sold
each year
would you say it’s 1 million or 100
million maybe
or what about 10 billion
all of these guesses are wrong in fact
there are 50 billion post-it notes
sold and produced annually and to help
you visualize that
if you were given a post-it note every
single second of your existence
from the moment you were born it would
only
take you 1585 years to get to 50 billion
but what if i were to tell you this all
came about
due to a simple mistake or a failed
experiment if you will although i doubt
that failed
is the right word to use here our story
begins
in 1968 with dr spencer silva
who has a name reminiscent of that of a
james bond villain
dr silva who was not in fact a villain
from james bond
but rather a simple chemist employed by
the company 3m was in the process of
inventing
a strong adhesive ironically however
silver’s super strong substance was not
effective
at all but instead rather low tack
and it could easily be be stuck to and
removed from surfaces
numerous times without damage remind you
of anything
at the time this was considered a
mistake
and a failure and it was left to be
forgotten
which it was for the entirety of six
years
a co-worker of silver’s arthur fry a
devout christian
who dedicated much of his time to his
church and its choir
was the one to be struck with the idea
of the universally appreciated post-it
note
nothing in this world would anger fry
more than the paper bookmarks and his
hymnbook
which would constantly fall out and have
to be replaced offensively frequently
it was his irritation that provoked his
idea
and having remembered silva’s failed
experiment he knew just what needed to
be done
to bring his vision of the post-it note
to life
over the next six years the team
developing the post-it
only discovered more and more uses for
the accidental invention
what was initially supposed to be a
bookmark was becoming this broadly
useful item
which could be adapted to its purchases
needs
from planning and brainstorming to
revision to shopping lists to
according to every history teacher’s
favorite website
wikipedia cleaning your keyboard
post-it notes have an endless array of
uses
even going as far as being used as
symbols of protest
as was seen not long ago in hong kong
anyone no matter their lifestyle or
occupation
has a use for post-it notes and it was
this
as well as the collective curiosity
surrounding the product
that initiated its success but
their infinite uses aren’t the only
incredible thing that have come from
post-it notes
they have been a pioneer in the way of
remembering
promoting inventions that would have
surely not existed otherwise
and inspiring ideas that have allowed
forms of note-taking tools to evolve
yet the traditional post-it note is
losing its influence
this is 2021 an
age of artificial intelligence of
technology
a time where we can give speeches over
the internet
we’re living in a world where almost
everything we do
is online more so than ever before
especially due to the pandemic
it’s natural of course that as
technology advances we adapt with it
but we’re seemingly unable to leave
post-it notes in the past
hence the introduction of virtual sticky
notes
although many may argue that the concept
of post-its is diminished by this
they have proven to be powerful
electronic reminders
and have boosted people’s productivity
during lockdown
it amazes me still to this day that the
post-it note was born from a mistake
and that in a world in which errors do
not occur
they could not exist let this serve
to remind us that mistakes can be as
wonderful
as they can be terrible and that we must
stop
seeing them as mistakes as barriers
but rather as potential the post-it note
is a major example of this but i wonder
what mistakes no matter how little or
big
have changed the course of your life for
the better