Everyday Objects

Post-it notes, Velcro, Silly Putty — the strange backstories behind ordinary things.

13 stories

• The Wallpaper That Failed and Became Bubble Wrap
• The Weak Glue That Took Six Years to Find a Job — and Became the Post-it Note
• The Rolled-Up Paper That Became the Stethoscope
• The Secret Rubber Substitute That Became Silly Putty
• The Slice of Cork That Named the Cell
• The Slinky: The Walking Spring That Fell Off a Navy Workbench
• The Strange History of the Ballpoint Pen
• The Billiard Ball Prize That Invented Plastic
• The Burrs Stuck to a Dog That Became Velcro
• The Chemist Who Forgot to Wash His Hands and Discovered Saccharin
• The Crash-Test Foam That Invented Your Mattress
• The 3,000-Year-Old Pants That Were Invented for Horseback Riding
• The 5,700-Year-Old Chewing Gum That Held an Entire Human Genome

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