We are all familiar with Batman whether it is through movies, comic books, television shows, or cartoons. We know the look of the character and the various actors that have portrayed him over the years but the history of the character is not common knowledge. Batman did not start out resembling anything like the costumed hero we all know. Batman was the creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in 1938 which was published by D.C. Comics. Kane’s original Batman sketches looked more like a Superman type of character with reddish tights, a domino mask, and some stiff wings that resembled those of a bat. Refinements of the character led to giving him a cowl and a cape, removed the red portions, and giving him gloves. The character’s personality was shaped by movies of the day and characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Zorro, and the Shadow. The main difference in costuming is that most other Superheroes have colorful costumes but Batman has a darker more ominous look which was by design. The Bruce Wayne personality was developed by Bill Finger based on a combination of Scottish legend Robert Bruce and U.S. Revolutionary General “Mad Anthony” Wayne.
Kane signed away rights to the character for, among other compensation, a byline on all Batman comic books which eventually had the line “Created by Bob Kane” for all of Batman’s stories. Bill Finger never received credit as a co-creator of Batman and Kane was criticized by some for not sharing the credit, and after Finger’s death in 1974 Kane regretted letting his ego get the best of him and not officially recognizing him as a co-creator of Batman as well as other characters and villains. Finger was credited as the creator of the Riddler by Julius Schwartz in 1965 in an acknowledgement of his work. The character has been recreated of the years as times and audiences change and Frank Miller’s epic 1986 comic series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns redefined the character for a generation and brought the character back into popularity. This is the version of Batman many of us are familiar with and spawned a series of movies which introduced him and many other characters to a new set of fans. Batman has had a long history of ups and downs but the character has had a large resurgence in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down.
There are many office items we use on a regular basis without giving much thought to their origin or development and Post-It notes by 3M is one of those products. The adhesive note paper was developed in 1970 by 3M scientist Spencer Silver. He was attempting to find a strong adhesive but what he developed was amazingly weak and stuck to items but was easily lifted off. No one was quite sure what to do with it but Silver hung on to it just in case. Silver promoted his product within 3M but could not drum up much interest.
In 1974 Art Fry, a 3M colleague of Silvers, came up with an idea for a personal use of the product. Fry sang in a church choir and bookmarks he used to mark his hymnbook kept slipping out. He coated the bookmarks in the weak adhesive and noticed that it kept them in place and could be removed without leaving any residue. Fry further developed the idea and 3M launched its product in 1977 but the public was skeptical so it was not a successful debut. A year later 3M decided to give away free samples to the people of Boise, Idaho. 90% of those that tried the product said they would buy it and by 1980 it was being sold across the nation. By the next year, Post-It notes were sold in Canada and Europe.
Post-It notes have become one of the best selling and most known office supplies of all time but they are manufactured exclusively at the 3M plant in Cynthiana, KY. The original Post –It notes have the traditional small strip of glue that adheres well to smooth flat surfaces but in 2003 they introduced Super Sticky notes that use a stronger glue to stick better to rougher or vertical surfaces. 3M makes a product with adhesive covering the entire back of the note and the U.S. Post Office uses them to address and forward mail.
There are a wide range of sizes and colors of the notes offered to meet a large variety of needs. The next time you scribble a message on one of these 3M Post-It notes remember the twists and turns in the development of the little yellow notepad we use on a daily basis.
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