The bodyshop painter became frustrated with the sample masking tape and exclaimed, "Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!" The name was soon applied to the entire line of 3M tapes.

Although 3M has kept the specific ingredients of its adhesive under wraps for decades, it's undoubtedly a soup of monomers like butyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate.

We all know the virtues of Scotch tape when wrapping gifts, connecting errant pieces of paper, and mending torn book pages. But it turns out we may be sleeping on some of this adhesive strip's lesser-known, but no less useful applications. Here are a handful of creative ways to use it, beyond the basics.

Scotch® Light Duty Packaging Tape 600 is a 2.3 mil (0.058 mm) thick transparent film tape with a very high strength acrylic adhesive which adheres instantly to a wide variety of surfaces. The tape removes cleanly and boasts long aging and premium performance.

Scotch tape was developed in the United States by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, now called 3M. Its creator was 3M engineer Richard Drew. According to the company, before he developed cellophane tape in 1930, Drew came up with adhesive masking tape.

In 1961, 3M engineers perfected the tape so it would never yellow or ooze adhesive. Scotch Magic Transparent Tape, with its matte finish backing, disappears when applied. It's water resistant and you can write on it. Scotch Tape has been used as an anti-corrosive shield on the Goodyear Blimp.

The typical adhesive tape contains not just two materials (glue and backing, which can be cellophane or some other plastic) but four. A layer of primer helps the glue stick to the plastic, while on the other side a “release agent” makes sure that the glue does not stick to the top.

The main component of the adhesive itself is always a polymer. Styrenic block copolymers, for example, are often used for adhesives on packaging and double-sided tapes. Office tapes usually employ water-based acrylics, and silicone adhesives are found on medical tapes.

Thickness- How thick tape is. It is commonly measured in mils (milli-inch), which is one-thousandth of an inch or 25.4 microns.

For your toughest jobs, go for our strongest hold–Scotch-Mount Extreme Double-Sided Mounting Tape with its 3M industrial strength adhesive. Equipped with our powerful permanent adhesive, this double-sided tape defies gravity, holding an item up to 30 pounds.

• When Was Tape Invented? The first variation of tape was invented in 1845 by a surgeon, Doctor Horace Day.
• What Was Used Before Tape? An assortment of things was used before tape.
• The Many Uses of Different Types of Tape. There are at least 50 different types of adhesive tape, each with their own specific uses.

On September 8, 1930, 3M sent its first roll of cellophane tape to a prospective client, who enthusiastically endorsed it. Still, the product, originally called Scotch® Brand Cellulose Tape and later renamed Scotch® Transparent Tape, appeared to face an uncertain future.