Trivia
The famous cow used as the corporate symbol on all Elmer's products is actually named Elsie, and she is the spouse of Elmer, the bull (male cow) who the company is named after.
The Romans used pine wood tar and beeswax as an waterproof adhesive for ship building. Beeswax is still used today as a reliable adhesive.
The ancient occupation of the "Gold Beater" was one who flattened out gold nuggets by hammering them in between the outside membrane of the large intestine from an Ox (known as Goldbeater skin) to produce the gold leaf used in decorative gilding. The adhesive used to attach this metal to paper or plaster, in ancient times and still today, is... egg whites!
The first cyanoacrylate (super/krazy glue) was discovered by accident, when chemists at Eastman-Kodak accidentally glued two prisms together when testing new organic compounds for light refracting properties.
We have heard that the adhesive on that stamps in Israel is Kosher. We have also heard that some kids glues are classified as Kosher too - because kids might eat them. Readers have told us the same about U.S. stamps. Apparently they are veggie too!
The United States Postal Service assures its customers that whey will not get fat licking stamps. There is no more than one-tenth of a calorie's worth of glue on every stamp. (Source: Absolute Trivia)
Postmasters might not have to be thinking about such things for much longer. The U.S. and Canada have stamps with a peel-off back: no licking necessary.
Formerly known as "ol'pile o'bones", Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada was a large source of buffalo bones used in the production of animal glues. The advancement of the railroad resulted in the slaughtering of thousands of buffalo, and the bones were later shipped back east on the same railroad, to be turned into glue. This type of glue has mostly been replaced with synthetic PVAs in the domestic market. But some glues still use a combination of animal or fish bone and PVAs.
When you are sucking in all the toxins from your cigarette, you can rest assured that the glue used to hold it together is completely non-toxic. It is made from a combination of casein (milk) and wax (to increase moisture resistance), and is absolutely harmless.
The Aztec Indians in Central America used animal blood mixed with cement as a mortar for their buildings, many of which still remain standing today.
The manufacturing of synthetic adhesives is cheaper than the manufacturing of original protein based adhesives such as blood, bones, and milk.
Starch based adhesives have been used for thousands of years. Starch on its own has no adhesive qualities. It must be boiled in water, which makes the starch granules swell, to become gelatinous, which creates its adhesive quality.
Starch is used as a binder in the production of paper. It is the use of a starch coating that controls ink penetration when printing. Cheaper papers do not use as much starch, and this is why your elbows get black when you are leaning over your morning paper.
Corrugated cardboard is often held together with cornstarch. In the production of cardboard boxes, the cornstarch is mixed with urea formaldehyde resin to make the card board water resistant.
Many hair sprays (which are really just adhesives for the hair) are made largely of cellulose, the major ingredient of the cell walls of plants. Ethyl Cellulose adhesives dry quickly, do not remain tacky, and wash out with water. What more would you want in a hair adhesive.
Cellulose, the major ingredient of the cell walls of plants, is the base of adhesives ideal for sticking plastic or glass to the cornea of the eye. Methyl Cellulose does not irritate human tissue, which is why it is used for this application.
Alfred Nobel used a cellulose adhesive (nitrocellulose) as the chemical binder for nitroglycerin, which he used in his invention of dynamite.