Scotch Tape: What’s in a Name – On the House
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Scotch Tape: What’s in a Name

By on January 2, 2014

Ever wonder how products got their name? Scotch tape for example, why “Scotch”? It wasn’t called this when Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining introduced it in the 1920’s. They developed this special type of clear tape for automobile manufacturers who had just introduced two-tone paint jobs. They needed clear tape they could see through to line it up on the edge of the first color, and wanted something that would peel off easily without damaging the freshly painted surfaces.

According to history, the name came about when an early batch didn’t get a full coat of adhesive and auto painters complained to 3M sales reps about their ‘stingy Scotch bosses.’ Company executives heard about it and liked it because it sounded like an economical product. The name “Scotch” for their new clear tape stuck.

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