...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8079890 | Building block toy set A building block toy set has first and second blocks each having a first connection device at the upper end and a second connection device at the lower end which is releasably mateable with the first connection device on the other block, whereby the first block is c... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8070551 | Slotted rod for a construction toy A slotted rod for a construction toy is comprised of an elongated rod member having a body portion with a length that is substantially longer than the thickness. A conventional connector is located at each end of said rod member for connection to a hub member or to ... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8047890 | Toy construction set and method A toy construction set has a plurality of interconnectable objects each having a plurality of faces. Some of these faces have a connector, while other faces lack a connector but have a fibrous or pierceable material. The connector includes a first hub and a second h... | 11/01/2011 |
| 7798884 | Toy construction system A toy construction system includes a block component and a connector component. The connector component has a connector-to-block coupling section for releasable coupling to the block component and a connector-to-connector coupling section for releasable coupling to ... | 09/21/2010 |
| 7666054 | Offset matrix adapter for toy construction sets An offset matrix adapter for integrating existing components of K'nex construction toys with existing components of Lego-style brick systems, notwithstanding that the spacing matrices of the systems are incompatible. Adapter bricks or bases are provided, having adap... | 02/23/2010 |
| 7625261 | Toy building set A toy building set with toy building elements with coupling means for releasably interconnecting the toy building elements, which further comprises outer and inner toy building elements with a longitudinal direction. The inner toy building elements are receivable in... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7553209 | Toy-building elements for variably positional toys Toy-building elements including various combinations of the following features: a top having a broad surface and at least one projection or ball-shaped coupler extending above the broad surface; an interior having contact surfaces that are accessible through an open... | 06/30/2009 |
| 7389748 | Food dispensing interlocking animal toy system An animal toy features the ability to connect two or more separate toys of varying shape, size, color, and/or texture, together to create larger and more complex toy systems. The animal toy allows an almost endless variety of toy systems to capture the interest as w... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7374468 | Construction system A construction system includes an elongated connection stem with a central member having a uniform first transverse dimension and opposed integral end members, each having a uniform second transverse dimension greater than the first, each end member having a longitu... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7371147 | System for realising complex assemblies The invention concerns a system for realizing complex constructions, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of basic elements, and a plurality of constructive and/or figurative elements, that can be coupled with said basic elements, each basic element being ... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7371146 | Toy construction set method and apparatus The present invention is an improved construction toy set having a number of different structural elements which are configured for snapping together. These elements having key connectors configured for mating together, where integral locking indentations in the key... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7364487 | Structure building toy A structure building system is described that utilizes a mat, a set of connectors and a set of structural members to build a structure. In a preferred embodiment, magnetic coupling/connection may be used to connect the piece of the structure together. The system may... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7354330 | Connection for beads with locked and articulating engagement An assembly of two elements including a first element that has a cavity with an external opening connected to a first region defined by a sidewall that is a spherical segment and the diameter of the external opening is smaller than the diameter of the sidewall in th... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7347028 | Modular construction system utilizing versatile construction elements with multi-directional connective surfaces and releasable interconnect elements A modular construction system that utilizes versatile construction components releasably attachable to one another, in virtually any desired direction, by use of one or more interconnect components positioned therebetween. Each construction component includes at lea... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7340868 | Universal structural element The invention describes a universal structural element (1) for the purpose of forming in particular, three-dimensional structures, which structural element can be manufactured in a convenient manner efficiently, cost-effectively from the most varied materials... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7334575 | Bow limb fixation member An improved archery bow having innovative bow limb pockets. ... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7326100 | Marble building toy This application discloses a toy construction apparatus that can be used to make posable toy figures. The apparatus includes structural pieces, called “bones,” which can be connected to a plurality of other bones by joints that can be formed by a marble or simil... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7322873 | Illuminated, three-dimensional modules with coaxial magnetic connectors for a toy construction kit A construction kit that is suitable for creating a variety of different structures includes a plurality of illuminated elements. Each illuminated element has a light source and is electrically conductive. Tin one embodiment, the kit includes a plurality of connector... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7311579 | Block set for assembling a solid creation and apparatus for fabricating block for assembling solid creation A block set for assembling solid creations uses at least two types of cylindrical blocks. The cylindrical blocks are a thin cylindrical block and a thick cylindrical block. The thick cylindrical block may include a hole on a side face thereof for receiving the thin ... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7291052 | Toy figure play apparatus A play apparatus in the form of a toy figure includes a body member that can be separated into left and right halves by dividing generally centrally along a generally vertical line or plane and can be joined with the opposing halves of another toy figure to create d... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7267598 | Interfacings between block type and rod and connector type construction toy sets A multi-part construction toy incorporating rod and connector elements, as well as block elements, modified in a way to accommodate the building of hybrid structures utilizing both types of building components. Specialized adapter blocks are provided with openings f... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7255624 | Illuminated, three-dimensional modules for a magnetic toy construction kit A construction kit that is suitable for creating a variety of different structures includes a plurality of illuminated elements. In one embodiment, an illuminated element has a plurality of substantially transparent panels forming a three-dimensional shape, a self-p... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7247075 | Golden rhombic pyramid-shaped building blocks This invention is a set of magnetic building blocks. Each block or piece in the set is in the shape of a right golden rhombic pyramid. There are two important fixed proportions that dictate each block's shape. The first is that the pyramid's base is a golden rhombus... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7198270 | Kinematically compatible parallelpipedal cells This invention generally relates to a set of parallelepipedal bodies (cells) capable of matingly compatible engagement for interconnection, so as to allow up to three degrees of freedom in the sliding movement of an individual cell or grouping of cells about a group... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7175498 | Combination toy building block and container for holding liquids and the like A combination toy building block and container for holding liquids and the like, wherein the functional configuration of the device permits both the carrying of a dispensable substance and the stacking of multiple containers, thereby enabling the imaginative play co... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7152368 | Garden trellis A trellis assembly including a first trellis section having a plurality of vertical rods connected to at least one horizontal rod and a second trellis section having a plurality of connected horizontal and vertical rods. The second trellis section includes a plurali... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7140944 | Connecting toy A toy includes a base member and coupling member. In one embodiment, the base member has, for example, three attachment posts. The coupling member is configured to be removably coupled to any one of the attachment posts. The coupling member is also configured to be ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7108577 | Wedge-lock building blocks A building block that is releasably attachable to another block of compatible design by wedging the tongue of one block into the groove of another block, without the need for any intermediate adhesives, bonding materials or any other means of holding the blocks toge... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7103983 | Multiple component and interactive growth chart and method A multiple component, interactive growth chart assembled from a plurality of growth chart components. The individual components are preferably building block type, and have means for coupling one component on top of another. The components have a disclosed height, s... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7086923 | Transformable toy furniture and room system A system and method for simulating a wide variety of different toy furniture items including a plurality of three-dimensional predetermined shaped members wherein at least some of the predetermined shaped members are adaptable to be positioned and repositioned adjac... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7066778 | Construction kit Construction kit with two- and/or three-dimensional construction elements (1, 9) with magnetic elements (4) in the corners and/or sides and ferromagnetic spheres (11), which can be placed between the magnetic elements (4) of adjacent cons... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7063481 | Connector block for modular construction and object fabricated therefrom A polymeric connector block for interconnecting a plurality of elongate tubular members into a structure has five-sided front and back sides with an orthogonal pattern of three parallel through-apertures therethrough. A fourth through-aperture passes from the left s... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7063587 | Building block A building block includes two perpendicularly connected square frames, and a hypotenuse frame extended between outer edges of the two square frames. Each of the square and hypotenuse frames has an outer frame portion and an inner cross-shaped rib portion having a th... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7040949 | Flexible connector A structural connection device to be used primarily as a toy in conjunction with foam tubes, popularly known as “noodles” which are commonly used at swimming pools, wherein the connector is preferably made from foam and is configured as a longitudinal flexible m... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7018210 | Method and apparatus for teaching and learning reading A method and apparatus for teaching and learning reading is disclosed. The apparatus is a group of universally connectable blocks and a primer having intelligible reading units composed of reading indicia. Each block has at least three faces, and each face of a give... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7011525 | Encoding system combining language elements for rapid advancement A system and method for literacy and language instruction that can be practiced with graphophonic word-building blocks, learning activities, software, an electronic device, and educational card/dice/bingo, etc. games with multi-sensory learning that revolves around ... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6997771 | Self-supporting building cards A set of elements used for building easily disassembled structures includes a plurality of building cards. At least one surface of each card is provided with protrusions extending normally therefrom. When an edge of a first card is in abutting contact with one or mo... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6993879 | Molded plastic truss work A molded plastic truss work includes an upper grid and a lower grid, with a plurality of interconnecting members interconnecting the grids. The upper grid includes longitudinal members and transverse members that extend between and interconnect the longitudinal memb... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6966813 | Modular construction system and method of constructing toy structures A construction system and method of constructing is disclosed. The construction system includes a substantially spherical hub and linear member attached to the substantially spherical hub to construct a variety of structures. The method of constructing a structure u... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6948998 | Interconnectable model construction elements A system of interconnectable construction elements created from molded plastic, wood or metal, and which include four basic construction elements, wherein a first and second construction element include a hemispherical segment and a planar connecting segment and com... | 09/27/2005 |