When did they invent super glue?
Cyanoacrylate was discovered by Harry Coover at Eastman Kodak during World War II when searching for a way to make plastic gun-sight lenses. It did not solve this problem, since it stuck to all the apparatus used to handle it. It was first marketed to industry as well as consumers in February 1955 as a product called “Flash Glue”. It was patented in 1956 and developed into Eastman 910 adhesive in 1958. The new glue was demonstrated in 1959 on the television show I’ve Got a Secret when the host Garry Moore was lifted into the air by two steel plates held together with a drop of Eastman 910. Cyanoacrylates are now a family of adhesives based on similar chemistry. One of its first practical uses was to close wounds after surgery!
