The particulars are hard to pin down, but everyone seems to agree that Scotch tape, the now-famous brand, originated as a slur. Back in the ’20s, Scotch was a synonym for “cheap.” Richard Drew, a 23-year-old research assistant at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, was trying to create a sticky-but-not-too-sticky adhesive tape for auto painters to use on two-tone paint jobs. When he erred on the not-too-sticky side, one of the car-painters asked, “Why so Scotch with the adhesive?” and a brand name was born.

An engineering-school dropout who supported himself by playing the banjo for Twin Cities dance bands, Drew’s first job at 3M was delivering sandpaper samples to auto shops. There he heard so much cursing about paint jobs ruined by overly sticky tape that he set about trying to make a better one. In 1925, after two years of experimentation, he hit upon the winning formula — a blend of cabinetmaker’s glue and glycerin. Scotch brand masking tape was born.

Image

With the tape’s success, Drew became technical director of 3M’s product-fabrication laboratory. It was there, in 1929, that he had idea of using Dupont’s newly invented cellophane as backing for a transparent tape. Bakers and grocers were using cellophane as a moisture-proof packing material for their goods, but they needed an attractive way to seal it.