The History of Tape
The History of Tape: Do you play Trivial Pursuit? If so, do you know the answers to: Who invented masking or cellophane tape?
The answer is: An engineer at 3M invented the tapes. It was created not by accident, but by necessity of invention. The first tape that was invented was masking tape in 1925 by a man named Richard Drew. Richard Drew was field testing another product for 3M when the painters started complaining about not being able to get a straight line delineation between colors. He went back to the lab and invented masking tape. Drew went on then to create cellulose tape in 1930.
We may not have cellulose tape today if it weren’t for the Great Depression. Cellulose/cellophane tape was marketed to companies that produced food products because the original tape was moisture proof. Bankers and grocers loved the tape but the invention of shrink wrapping greatly reduced the use of Cellulose Tape. However, because people could not afford to go out and buy new things such as books, paper, etc. Cellulose tape was used to mend torn and ripped items around the home. So, 3M continued to make it.
Another Trivial Pursuit Question: Did you know that Scotch is the name for all of 3M’s tapes, not just the clear cellophane tape we use to wrap packages with? It’s true. While testing the masking tape, the auto painter grew frustrated with its sticking value and told Drew to “Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!” So, the whole line of tape became known as Scotch Tape.
So, next time you play Trivial Pursuit, remember, the inventor of Scotch tape and masking tape is Richard Drew and you may just get a pie piece.
Not a Trivial Pursuit Question, but did you know that Nelco carries a full range of tape products offered by 3M? If you didn’t, please look at our Electrical Tape Product Selection Guide. To order, call one of our customer service specialists at 1-800-505-6352 or email our sales department [email protected].
