What you didn't know about Super Glue (probably)

Feuer Frei! · 04-21-11, 01:46 AM

Super Glue inventor Dr Harry Coover has died, aged 94.
The accidentally miraculous substance has changed our lives in enough different ways that Coover - a recipient of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation - was inducted into the US National Inventor's Hall of Fame alongside such luminaries as Thomas Edison.
Here's a checklist of the most interesting things Super Glue can stick together.

Sticking cars to cranes
The image used to promote Super Glue has become an advertising icon. Legend has it the car was stuck to the crane with only a few drops of the new wonder glue.

Sticking television hosts upside-down to bars
In 1958, "Eastman 910" - so named because it bonded in 9 to 10 seconds - became popularly known as "super glue" after Coover went on US TV series I've Got A Secret.
The clue to Coover's secret lay in the fact that host Garry Moore appeared upside-down stuck to a metal bar. Coover claimed he was being held by just a single drop of Eastman 910.

Sticking skin together
Super Glue was first discovered when Coover was attempting to make superior plastic sights for guns. Unfortunately, the substances he was working with - cyanoacrylates - kept sticking to other things when exposed to moisture or heat.
Some 20 years later, Super Glue finally found a wartime use. Soldiers in the Vietnam War discovered that Loctitie Super Glue was a quick, clean way to seal wounds on the battlefield.

Sticking shanks to ballet shoes
Every ballerina's not-so-dirty-secret. Pointe shoes have a piece of stiff material in the sole that helps them do that tippy-toes thing. Hardcore dancers use shanks made of hessian, which are not only hardened by Super Glue, but are also stuck down by it.

Unsticking fingerprints from glass
Warm any cyanoacrylate up and it produces fumes. Those fumes actually react with fingerprint residue and form a white polymer which can be seen with the naked eye. True - it says so here.

Sticking coral to rocks
Anyone who's ever fragged a bit of coral and stuck it to another bit of coral share the love aquarium fans feel for Super Glue.

Sticking medals to Coover's chest
Coover was widely celebrated for his breakthrough, being awarded:
* The Southern Chemist Man of the Year Award
* The Earle B Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management
* The Maurice Holland Award
* The Industrial Research Institute Medal, and
* Induction into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame
Last year, US President Barack Obama handed him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Well done, sir! RIP

SOURCE

Armistead · 04-21-11, 11:09 AM

We once put it on someones longneck bottle and yes it got stuck...funny, but turned out to be a cruel joke. Dude being drunk ripped it off with several layers of lip, but we taught him a needed lesson.

AVGWarhawk · 04-21-11, 11:49 AM

I would have to say that super glue is a great invention. I have repaired a lot with the stuff! RIP!

Jimbuna · 04-21-11, 11:52 AM

Helped me out with many an unforeseen dilemna on many occasions.

RIP Sir.

Fish In The Water · 04-21-11, 03:54 PM

Yes where would civilization be without super glue and duck tape?

In pieces probably...

04-21-11, 01:46 AM	#1
Feuer Frei! Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Valhalla Posts: 5,295 Downloads: 141 Uploads: 17	What you didn't know about Super Glue (probably) Super Glue inventor Dr Harry Coover has died, aged 94. The accidentally miraculous substance has changed our lives in enough different ways that Coover - a recipient of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation - was inducted into the US National Inventor's Hall of Fame alongside such luminaries as Thomas Edison. Here's a checklist of the most interesting things Super Glue can stick together. Sticking cars to cranes The image used to promote Super Glue has become an advertising icon. Legend has it the car was stuck to the crane with only a few drops of the new wonder glue. Sticking television hosts upside-down to bars In 1958, "Eastman 910" - so named because it bonded in 9 to 10 seconds - became popularly known as "super glue" after Coover went on US TV series I've Got A Secret. The clue to Coover's secret lay in the fact that host Garry Moore appeared upside-down stuck to a metal bar. Coover claimed he was being held by just a single drop of Eastman 910. Sticking skin together Super Glue was first discovered when Coover was attempting to make superior plastic sights for guns. Unfortunately, the substances he was working with - cyanoacrylates - kept sticking to other things when exposed to moisture or heat. Some 20 years later, Super Glue finally found a wartime use. Soldiers in the Vietnam War discovered that Loctitie Super Glue was a quick, clean way to seal wounds on the battlefield. Sticking shanks to ballet shoes Every ballerina's not-so-dirty-secret. Pointe shoes have a piece of stiff material in the sole that helps them do that tippy-toes thing. Hardcore dancers use shanks made of hessian, which are not only hardened by Super Glue, but are also stuck down by it. Unsticking fingerprints from glass Warm any cyanoacrylate up and it produces fumes. Those fumes actually react with fingerprint residue and form a white polymer which can be seen with the naked eye. True - it says so here. Sticking coral to rocks Anyone who's ever fragged a bit of coral and stuck it to another bit of coral share the love aquarium fans feel for Super Glue. Sticking medals to Coover's chest Coover was widely celebrated for his breakthrough, being awarded: * The Southern Chemist Man of the Year Award * The Earle B Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management * The Maurice Holland Award * The Industrial Research Institute Medal, and * Induction into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame Last year, US President Barack Obama handed him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Well done, sir! RIP SOURCE __________________ "History is the lies that the victors agree on"- Napoleon LINK TO MY SH 3 MODS

04-21-11, 11:49 AM	#3
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I would have to say that super glue is a great invention. I have repaired a lot with the stuff! RIP! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

04-21-11, 11:52 AM	#4
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,461 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Helped me out with many an unforeseen dilemna on many occasions. RIP Sir. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

04-21-11, 11:09 AM	#2
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	We once put it on someones longneck bottle and yes it got stuck...funny, but turned out to be a cruel joke. Dude being drunk ripped it off with several layers of lip, but we taught him a needed lesson.

04-21-11, 03:54 PM	#5
Fish In The Water Prince of the Sea SUBSIM Welcome Committee Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Watching over U-253 Posts: 3,527 Downloads: 98 Uploads: 2	Yes where would civilization be without super glue and duck tape? In pieces probably...