Who Invented Glues?
The earliest use of adhesives dates back to more than 200,000 years. It was being used before the humans learned to write, which means there is no way of finding out who invented the first rules. Most of the time, those adhesives were of natural origin like tree saps or animal glues. We know about these glues because a number of artifacts have been discovered which were stuck together with tree saps (glues). Historical evidence also shows the use of adhesives was common during the Babylonian empire. The Egyptians, the Romans and the Greeks also used adhesives on a major scale. These were not exactly natural glues. These people modified the glues to increase their potency. The conditions didn’t change much until the 1700s when the first glue factory was established in Holland. Even the glues manufactured in the early factories were made from natural adhesives.
Synthetic polymers were developed in the early decades of the 20th century. These synthetic polymers changed the adhesive industry for the better. They were stronger, stayed longer and were easier and cheaper to produce. The advances were so rapid and technologically so good that no major changes have been introduced since then. Super glue is also synthetic glue which was invented by Dr. Harry Coover in 1942. The main ingredient of the super glue is cyanoacrylate. A lot of glues are available in the market with strengths that vary a lot. The choice depends upon the end use – whether two pieces of paper are to be glued together or the tiles of the heat-resisting shield to space shuttles or rockets.
