National Cellophane Tape Day

It’s clear and it’s shiny and it seals in some of the greatest treasures the world has ever seen. Well… Kind of. It’s been used for sealing letters and wrapping presents, putting up notes and attaching things to homework assignments. It’s companion is the stapler, and it lives on the desks of office workers and teachers alike, and it has one scientific property that seems purely magical. That’s right, we’re talking about cellophane tape, often called ‘Scotch Tape’ thanks to the famous brand, and Cellulose Tape day is all about celebrating this amazing adhesive tape!

History of National Cellophane Tape Day

Cellophane tape was invented in the 1930’s with the purpose of putting a seal on an amazing new substance called, you guessed it, cellophane. Now in case you aren’t familiar with the word, cellophane is a special type of plastic product, though don’t make the mistake of thinking this product is actually plastic. We know we did! You know that crinkly crackly substance that is used to make the bags for candy (especially those that come in boxes) crackers, and many other food substances? Yep! That’s cellophane, but it’s not plastic. Instead, it’s made from processed cellulose, just like paper!

The first brand of cellophane tape was developed by Richard Drew, and was called “Scotch” tape and now bears a very recognizable trademark of a red, black, and green tartan pattern. The term came about when a body shop painter who was testing one of the first tapes and announced in frustration “Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!” Scotch at the time being a slang term for ‘stingy’. While it was the first (and still the best, many would say) cellophane tape on the market, there’s hundreds of brands on the market today.

How to celebrate National Cellophane Tape Day

The ways to use cellophane tape are surprisingly boundless, but it also has some neat properties that are unknown to most people. In 1953 it was revealed that if you take cellophane tape and put it in a vacuum, and then peel it, it will fire off x-rays. Further research revealed that this emission of x-rays was enough to leave an x-ray of a finger on photo paper. Cellophane tape is just full of surprises, and whether your using it to tape someone’s eyebrows up or sealing an important document, National Cellophane Tape Day is your chance to come up with something new and creative for this amazing adhesive!