European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Stick to it Veness by Mike Genalo new York Bureau ver the past 10 years Consumers have probably used millions of the Little stackable labels called a Post its Quot a leaving myriad messages on myriad surfaces. There was t a program which started with the idea of coming up with such an item. It was simply a matter of one thing leading to another. Mass marketing did the rest. The Reposi Honable notes a one of the five to Selling office Supply products in the United states a arc the exclusive product of the scotch-3m company. Arthur Fry a corporate scientist with 3m, did t develop the glue and he certainly had nothing to do with the development of paper but he did come up with the idea of combining the two. Fry recalled that several years earlier another 3m scientist Spencer Silver had developed an Quot in glue Quot that was Strong enough to adhere yet could be easily removed. At that Lime there was no interest in Silver s discovery so in 1974, Fry started working on his combination in the Laboratory Fie experimented with several variations of the self Slick Bookmarks before he settled on one to his liking at first the adhesive transferred from Fry s Bookmarks to the pages of his hymnal. Quot some of those hymnal pages i tested my first notes on Are probably still stuck  Fie then came up with the idea of using the adhesive on notepads and spent 1 Viz years developing the final product. Now he had to convince the marketing people his idea had commercial value. It was difficult. Quot ii was hard to sell the concept that people needed a Nole pad that would sell at a Premium Price compared to Ordinary scratch paper a Fry recalls. After disappointing results in Early test marketing 3m discovered the secret was free samples. In areas the age of Trust was a Lime in which my parents lived. The Days of never Locking the front door and believing crime does t pay was another Era. It was a time when anything was possible if you worked hard. And if the Federal government said it then it was True. It has taken one stolen car a watergate scandal and a purse that i Dangle Between my Knees to Ward off muggers to convince me that if crime does t pay it makes a pretty Good Down payment on retirement. In a not really cynical but let s just say i question facts that i used to regard As absolute. Take the Story i read in the paper about first lady Barbara Bush. She was quoted As saying she fast t yet started to read Nancy Reagan a Quot my  give me a Pip win Fry who sings with his Church choir had a problem with Small slips of paper that he used to Mark the pages Lor the various hymns. They kept falling out of his hymnal and he would have to scramble to locate the proper Page. This led him to think of a bookmark that would t slip out but could be removed and discarded later. Specially designed fan folded Post it notes pop out of the pop no Jot Brand desktop reusable dispenser. Its the latest in the line of notes that have evolved from a brainstorm by scientist inventor Art Fry at left. The Post it note Marks its 10th birthday in april. Where free samples were Given orders and re orders were astronomical. In a 1978 consumer sampling program it was found that the number of Consumers intending to make an additional Purchase of Post its was 90 percent. Art Fry s baby was on its Way. Over the years Consumers have sent thousands of letters praising Post its. One was from a survivor of Hurricane Hugo in Charleston . Bruce Brakefield returned to his Home after it had been battered three Days by the storm to find that. Post it that had been on his door for some time had remained stuck. Wrote Brakefield Quot this Little piece paper withstood Hurricane Hugo whereas eight Oak j Trees in my Yard did  Fry a invention continues to grow with consume finding uses for the notes that even Fry never envisioned. One lady wrote to Tell How she used the notes to hem a skirt. Quot whether they re doctors lawyers teachers or secretaries everyone thinks i invented Post it notes just for them Quot Fry says. Post its first sold nationally in the United states in 1980, celebrates it s 10th anniversary next month. N available in various colors the notes also come in various shapes. They Are also available in Europe and Japan. In Japan the pad comes in an Oblong shape to facilitate the japanese style of writing. Recalling the earlier stages of the notepad s development Fry said Quot ideas Are like your kids. You look at them and this they re Beautiful. Someone else May look at them Arall they see Are Grubby Little kids. The Post it note ids was like that because the product met an in perceive need. R Quot if you had asked people what they needed they might have said a better paper clip. But give them a Post it note and they immediately know what to do1 it and see it s  break. Is she telling us she has t had a minute to thumb through the Index and look under Quot Bush Barbara Quot and see what pages she is mentioned on excuse me but i done to believe she s propped up in bed Reading Quot Charlotte s web Quot and Quot there a a boy in the girls bathroom Quot when she has the Galley proofs of Quot my turn Quot on her nightstand. You know what else i Don t believe the woman on television who pops prunes in her Mouth every 15 seconds. Who Are we kidding Here no one can eat that Many prunes. If she eats prunes As a snack she d be on the run More than the Energizer Rabbit. I Don t believe airline food can make you sterile. It can make you hostile but i have never believed the rumours that it causes mood swings and genetic Side effects. It stretches my credulity gland to see former raiders coach and sportscaster John Madden hanging out in a hardware store. Andy Rooney yes. Maybe i m wrong Madden does t seem like the kind of Guy who would i his Carport into a rec room. And every time i see Cher a into a fitness gym and say Quot i feel like a Lump i expect cellulite driven army of women to attack her with Blunt instruments. If she walked into my aerobics class with body like that she would t come out alive. I done to want you to think i be Given up on the world there Are a lot of things i accept on Blind Faith i know in heart that Jane Goodall is a Good person Minnie Pearl would sit Down and Chew the fat with you Beverly Sills could cheer me up. I believe people talk about me it m f glasses have water spots and my children will never forgive me for feeding them cheap Peanut butter and i know that i can lose weight while i sleep am. Fat anything i want to. If i did t believe that i could t scion living. I c 1990 eff a Bombeck Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes saturday March 24, 1990