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Super Glue Inventor Dies

By Paperstone on April 4, 2011 in Desktop Essentials

Harry Coover, inventor of Super Glue

Harry Wesley Coover, American inventor of super-strong adhesive Super Glue, died on 26th March 2011 at the age of 94.

Super Glue was discovered accidentally while Coover was researching polymers for jet canopies at Kodak. While the cyanoacrylates he was experimenting with were rejected for being too sticky, Coover recognised their potential as extra-strong adhesives. He was also the first to recognise cyanoacrylates’ potential uses as tissue adhesives in sutureless operations.

The power of Super Glue can be witnessed in this clip from BBC Three’s Bizarre ER in which a man goes to A&E with a silly hat stuck to his head.

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