T HE H ISTORY OF THE B AND - AID By Simon Regenold

W HO CREATED THE B AND - AID ? W HY ? Earle Dickson invented the band-aid. He created it in response to his wife constantly cutting her fingers as she cooked.

T HE O RIGINAL B AND - AID The original band-aid was a small gauze pad in the center of a piece of surgical tape. It was owned by Johnson & Johnson, a company which still owns the Band-Aid brand today.

M ARKETING AND I NCREASED C ONSUMER I NTEREST When the Band-aid started out, sales were very low. Sales greatly increased after Johnson & Johnson started giving free Band-aids to Boy- and Girl- Scouts.

W ORLD W AR II Johnson & Johnson shipped Band-aids overseas to help with the war effort.

P LASTIC S TRIPS In 1951, Johnson & Johnson introduced Band- Aid plastic strips.

C LEAR S TRIPS In 1957, Johnson & Johnson introduced clear strips.

S HEER V INYL In 1958, Johnson & Johnson started making Band-aids out of sheer vinyl.

W HAT KINDS OF B AND - AIDS ARE THERE ? Today, there are three types of band-aids: Plastic Bands Sheer Bands Clear Bands

H OW MUCH HAS CONSUMER INTEREST GROWN ? Consumer interest has grown exponentially over the years. In its first year, the Band- aid sold poorly and only $3,000 of Band-aids were sold. Consumer interest has grown greatly. Billions of Band-aids have been sold. They are sold all over the world.

B IBLIOGRAPHY Author not given. Earle Dickson, (November, 2000) MIT Inventor of the Week, September 8, 2010, [ Author not given. History of Innovation, (2007) Band-Aid, September 12, 2010, [ Author not given. Basic Care, (2007) Band-Aid, September 12, 2010, [ Image01, Image02, and Image03: [ Image04: [ Image05: [ medical.com/product_images/uploaded_images/Band-Aid-clear-Bandage-Perfect- Blend.jpg] Image06: [ Image07: [ Image08: [ aidclear-30.jpg] Image09: [ Image10: [ O3c2gRc/s400/BAND+AID+SHEER+STRIPS+VINTAGE+1960s+Tin.JPG] Image11: [

T HE H ISTORY OF THE B AND - AID By Simon Regenold