Blu Tack (marketed as Sticky-Tak in the United States) is a versatile, reusable putty-like pressure-sensitive adhesive. Common uses are to:
- Hold up posters
- Hold telephones, mouse mats and other small items in place
- Hold screws to screw drivers, model parts in position for painting or gluing
- Keep picture frames level
- Clean fluff from fabric and dirt from hard to get at places, such as computer keyboards
- Equalise the weights of masses connected by springs in the linear air track analogue for one-dimensional lattice dynamics.
The original version was blue, but myriad colours are now available. It is based on a formulation consisting of synthetic rubber, polymers, oil, and inorganic fillers.
A major drawback is that long exposure to Blu Tack leaves an oily stain on paper or paper-like material.
History
The substance was invented in 1971 in England during development of an industrial adhesive by Bostik, a subsidiary of French mineral oil company Total. There is a high probability that the invention was accidental. Laboratory Researcher Alan Holloway, working for Sealant Manufacturer Ralli Bondite of Waterlooville Hampshire, had in 1970 inadvertently produced a product that was useless as a sealant, but pliable & semi-elastic. This novelty product was demonstrated by Ralli Bondite management to visiting executives from another sealant & adhesive manufacturer, as a means of wall mounting notices. There was no need for secrecy about the formula, as it was of no use for a gun-grade mastic, the main product of Ralli Bondite. Neither, I presume, did they realise its potential as a marketable retail product! It is quite possible that news of, or actual handling of this material, was the catalyst for Bostik to commence research into the development of what they were eventually to launch as Blu Tack. In its concept stage the product was white, but was coloured blue in response to concerns received from marketing research regarding the possibility of children mistaking it for edible candy.[1]
Similar products from other manufacturers include "Buddies" (coloured pink), "Pritt-Tack", "Tac 'N Stick" and "Sticky Tack". "White Tack", made by the German company UHU, is similar but, as the name suggests, is white in colour, so coloured so that it doesn't show through easily on posters as Blu Tack does.[citation needed]
External links
References
- ^ "Blu Tack and how it is made". Frequently Asked Questions. Bostik Australia. 2005. Retrieved 2006-01-10.