In 1968 a scientist tried to make the strongest glue in the world and made a very weak one. It took more than ten years to find out why that was the best thing that could happen.
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. Be careful! The table is because there is jam on it.
2. The wore a white coat and worked with chemicals.
3. We will the new phone in March.
4. Before we sell it, we must it with real customers.
5. She put a in her book so she could find the page.
6. Use to fix the broken cup.
1. sticky · 2. scientist · 3. launch · 4. test · 5. bookmark · 6. glue
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
In 1968 a scientist called Spencer Silver worked in a laboratory at a company called 3M, in Minnesota in the US. 3M makes tape, sandpaper and thousands of other products.
Silver wanted to invent a very strong glue. But he made a mistake, and the glue he made was very weak. It was sticky, but you could pull two pieces of paper apart easily, and nothing was left on the paper.
For most people that was a failed experiment. For Silver it was interesting. He believed that a glue like that must be useful for something.
Silver told his colleagues about his glue for five years. He gave talks all over the company. But nobody could think of a use for it.
Most people would have forgotten the idea. Silver did not.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Silver wanted to make a weak glue.
2. Silver’s glue was sticky but easy to pull off.
3. Colleagues had a clear use for the glue at once.
In 1974 another 3M worker, Art Fry, went to a talk by Silver. Fry worked on new products, and he sang in a church choir.
Fry had a problem every Sunday. He put small pieces of paper in his hymn book as bookmarks, but they fell out when he turned the pages, and he lost his place.
One day he remembered Silver’s glue. A bookmark with a little of that glue would stay in the book — and come off without a mark!
At 3M, workers could spend some of their time (about fifteen per cent) on their own ideas. Fry used this time to work on his idea with Silver.
In 1977 3M tested the product in four cities, with the name “Press ’n Peel”. People were not interested, and many managers thought it would never sell.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Fry heard about the glue at a talk.
2. Fry’s bookmarks fell out of his hymn book.
3. The first test in 1977 was a big success.
Fry and his team did not give up. In 1978 3M gave free samples to office workers in a town called Boise, in the US state of Idaho. People tried them, and about nine in ten said that they would buy them.
That was the proof. In 1980 3M launched the notes across the US with a new name: Post-it notes.
The first notes were yellow because the paper in the next laboratory was yellow. It was cheap and ready to use. Yellow became the colour of Post-it notes in the whole world.
Today 3M sells tens of thousands of products, and Post-it notes are sold in more than one hundred countries.
The story is famous. But it is also a question. 3M gave people free time, and it waited more than ten years for its profit. Many companies today want fast results.
Some say free time is how companies make their best ideas. Others say it is too expensive and too slow. And many people now write their notes on a screen.
So here is the question. Should a company pay people to try ideas that may never work?
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Post-it notes were launched in the US in 1980.
2. The notes were yellow because the company liked yellow.
3. Many people tried the free samples in Boise.
This story is full of dates: in 1968, in 1974, in 1980. English uses three little words with time: in, on and at.
in — for long times: years, months, seasons, and parts of the day. in 1980 · in May · in summer · in the morning · in the evening
on — for days and dates. on Monday · on 5 June · on my birthday · on Saturday morning
at — for clock times and some fixed points. at 9 o’clock · at noon · at night · at the weekend
No word before next, last, this, every: next week · last year · every day. Not on next week.
| Word | Use it with… | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| in | years, months, seasons, parts of the day | in 1974 · in March · in the afternoon |
| on | days and dates | on Friday · on 14 February |
| at | clock times, night, the weekend | at 6.30 · at night · at the weekend |
Write in, on or at.
1. The meeting starts 9.30.
2. Spencer Silver made his glue 1968.
3. My English lesson is Tuesday.
4. I never answer emails night.
5. My birthday is 14 March.
6. We always go on holiday August.
1. at · 2. in · 3. on · 4. at · 5. on · 6. in
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. The shop opens in 9 o’clock.
2. I was born at 1990.
3. We have a test in Monday.
4. She goes running on the morning.
5. See you at Saturday!
1. The shop opens at 9 o’clock. (clock time → at)
2. I was born in 1990. (year → in)
3. We have a test on Monday. (day → on)
4. She goes running in the morning. (part of the day → in)
5. See you on Saturday! (day → on)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the story in your own words. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Tell me about a normal day in your life. What do you do in the morning, at lunchtime, in the evening and at night? What do you do at the weekend?
Imagine you have two free hours every week to work on your own idea. What would you make or change? Who would use it?
You are the boss of a company. A worker has an idea, but it has not made any money after two years.
Do you let them continue, or do you stop the project? Why?