Post-It

Post-It note

A small pad of original style lined yellow Post-It brand notes
Product type	Stationery, paper
Owner	3M
Country	Cynthiana, Kentucky, U.S.
Introduced	1977; 40 years ago (1977)
Website	3m.com

A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A unique low-tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to be easily attached, removed and even re-posted elsewhere without leaving residue. Originally small yellow squares, Post-it Notes and related products are now available in an array of colors, shapes and sizes.

Although 3M's patent ran out in 1997, "Post-It" and the original notes' distinctive yellow color remain registered company trademarks, with terms such as "repositionable notes" used for similar offerings manufactured by competitors. Despite this, the name has become genericized for all such products in many countries.

In 1968, a scientist at 3M in the United States, Dr. Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead he accidentally created a "low-tack," reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his "solution without a problem" within 3M both informally and through seminars but failed to gain acceptance. In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. Fry then utilized 3M's officially sanctioned "permitted bootlegging" policy to develop the idea. The original notes' yellow color was chosen by accident, as the lab next-door to the Post-It team had only yellow scrap paper to use.

3M launched the product as "Press 'n Peel" in stores in four cities in 1977, but results were disappointing. A year later 3M instead issued free samples directly to consumers in Boise, Idaho, with 94 percent of those who tried them indicating they would buy the product. The product was sold as "Post-Its" in 1979 when the rollout introduction began, and was sold across the United States from April 6, 1980. The following year they were launched in Canada and Europe.

In 2003, the company came out with "Post-it Brand Super Sticky Notes," with a stronger glue that adheres better to vertical and non-smooth surfaces.

Until 3M's patent expired in the 1990s, Post-it type notes were produced only in the company's plant in Cynthiana, Kentucky.