U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for January 30

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 30: SCOTCH TAPE

Profile America -- Sunday, January 30th.  Richard Drew of the 3M Company was working on another problem when he ended up inventing one of the world's most practical items.  He noted that workmen painting two-tone cars were having trouble keeping the colors separated along a straight line, so he developed an easy-to-peel, glue-backed masking tape to ease the job.  That was in 1925. Then, Drew expanded the use of the tape by introducing a transparent, cellophane backing.  The result was Scotch Tape, found today under many names in every home and office across the country.  Such tapes are just one of the many items stocked by the nation's 15,000 office supply and stationery stores, which sell more than $21 billion worth of merchandise annually.  Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  2002 Economic Census, NAICS 453210

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau