Sticky note

A sticky note (or Post-it note) is a small piece of paper with a strip of glue along one edge that make it "sticky," so you can stick it to things. It was invented by Arthur Fry.

Preprinted Post-it pad

Wall with Post-its

The most common sticky note is the Post-it, which is made by a company called 3M. In 1974 a man named Arthur Fry came up with the idea for the sticky note. He used a glue that was originally too weak to be used for anything else, so the notes would come off easy. 3M started to sell Post-Its in 1980.^[1]

In 2001, the patent for the glue that 3M uses on Post-it notes expired, so many other companies now make similar sticky notes.