Greg Just
04-01-2011, 6:03 PM
You probably don't recognize the name, but we use his invention nearly every day. Harold Coover invented Super Glue and he recently passed away at 94. Below is a small excerpt on Mr. Coover - quite a guy:
Super Glue was first discovered in 1942 by Coover who was trying to make materials for plastic gun sights for soldiers, but he rejected it because the material, cyanoacrylates, basically stuck to everything! In 1951, while working for Eastman Kodak, Coover and another scientist, Fred Joyner rediscovered the material, which they called Eastman 910 and saw its commercial benefit.
Soon he tested out his product on the television game show "I've Got a Secret," hosted by Garry Moore. He demonstrated it by gluing two metal bars together, then holding on to one as it lifted him in the air.
Coover never actually financially capitalized on Super Glue — he worked for the Eastman Kodak company until he retired — he held more than 460 patents (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/business/28coover.html?_r=2&), The New York Times reported. In 2004 he was inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Super Glue was first discovered in 1942 by Coover who was trying to make materials for plastic gun sights for soldiers, but he rejected it because the material, cyanoacrylates, basically stuck to everything! In 1951, while working for Eastman Kodak, Coover and another scientist, Fred Joyner rediscovered the material, which they called Eastman 910 and saw its commercial benefit.
Soon he tested out his product on the television game show "I've Got a Secret," hosted by Garry Moore. He demonstrated it by gluing two metal bars together, then holding on to one as it lifted him in the air.
Coover never actually financially capitalized on Super Glue — he worked for the Eastman Kodak company until he retired — he held more than 460 patents (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/business/28coover.html?_r=2&), The New York Times reported. In 2004 he was inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.