A STICKY SITUATION

by Pam North

Cyanoacrylate - your household probably has some.  If the word doesn't
sound familiar, you probably know it as superglue, and it's another
one of those everyday, commonplace items we take for granted.

Cyanoacrylates were first discovered in 1942.  A researcher, Dr. Henry
Coover, was at work in the Kodak Research Labs, attempting to develop
a clear plastic gun sight for use during World War II.  In the
process, he accidentally stumbled upon a new substance that stuck to
everything, creating such a mess that Dr.Coover decided it was more
trouble than it was worth, and shelved the material for possible later
experimentation.  Nine years later, when he was working at the
Tennessee Eastman Chemical Company, he was trying to develop a tough
polymer for jet canopies.  He remembered the troublesome substance,
and he wondered if it had the ability to refract light.  It didn't,
but a thin film of it stuck two expensive refractometer prisms
together so well that they could not be pried apart, completely
ruining them.  The mishap was reported to company executives,
who quickly realized the potential for cyanoacrylates as an adhesive
for commercial use.  Its introduction to the market in 1958 was met
initially with public skepticism, which was not overcome until
Dr. Coover appeared on the "I've Got A Secret" television show and,
using a single drop of glue, lifted host Gary Moore completely off the
floor.  Superglue is so strong that a drop spread over a single square
inch creates a bond that can lift the weight of a ton.

Cyanoacrylates have become a $325 million dollar industry, and now
approximately 90% of American households have at least one tube of it
on the shelf.

Superglue is an adhesive of diverse purposes.  Tubes of it were
included in the first aid kits of U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War
to help seal wounds.  Special kinds of it are used in hospitals to
replace sutures and staples in surgery; it helps decrease infection
rates in contaminated wounds, and allows healing with less scarring.

Superglue has proved beneficial for animals.  It has been successful
in mending broken turtle shells, reattaching fins on fish,
strengthening split hooves on horses, and gluing broken feathers
together on birds.  Many wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians keep
it on hand for such purposes.  Special formulations of superglue have
been developed especially for wound closings on animals.

Crime detection has found a specialized use for it also.  Superglue
vapor reacts with human skin oils, and can dislose fingerprints that
are too old to be revealed successfully with dusting powder.

Strange situations have resulted from its use.  A Bristol, England man
protesting tax laws glued his hand to a desk in the Inland Revenue
Office, determined to stay attached until he had his say.  Instances
of people deliberately gluing themselves to each other have occurred;
an ex-convict who had violated his parole attached himself to his
girlfriend to try to avoid being returned to jail, and an Algerian
woman glued herslf to her husband to try to prevent his deportation;
in both instances their efforts proved unsuccessful.  A casino was
sued after a man sat down on a toilet seat that a prankster had
smeared with superglue; the unfortunate and embarrassed victim was
forced to waddle through the casino in search of help.  A man in Texas,
who perhaps was weary of his wife's talking, poured superglue in her
mouth while she was asleep.

Superglue supposedly once saved the life of a Minnesota woman who was
fishing in a small rowboat on a lake.  The boat began to leak, and she
quickly dug into her tackle box for the tube of superglue she used to
make fishing lures.  Cutting a piece of leather from her boot, she
glued the patch over the leak, a repair that was so successful that
she was able to continue fishing.  She claimed that because she
couldn't swim, the superglue had saved her life as well as her
afternoon's recreation.

It's great stuff, that superglue - except when we manage to get it in
our hair or glue our fingers together.  Now men as well as women
appreciate nail polish remover when it's time to unstick ourselves.