National Cellophane Tape Day

Cellophane tape—a regular household item. So common, in fact, that one does not really think about it, right? It’s probably just one of those items in the junk drawer readily available whenever you need to wrap a gift or tape your favorite book back together after you’ve read it 100 times.

Invisible tape was invented by Richard Gurley Drew in the 1930s and he created it using cellulose, and originally called it cellulose tape. Drew created this tape to use on cellophane packaging used to wrap bakery and grocery items at the time, and although the idea didn’t stick right away for its intended purpose, customers began to realize it was useful for mending small things around the house. 3M, who Drew worked for at the time, began marketing the tape on January 30, 1930, and the patent was published on May 27 of that year, which is why we celebrate on this day!

So if you have some items lying around your house or some birthday packages to wrap, celebrate this holiday by picking up that Scotch tape and putting it to use!