In 1930, an American lab technician invented a transparent adhesive tape that became one of the products associated with everyday repairs. Richard Gurley Drew, an engineer and inventor at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, known as 3M, developed transparent cellophane tape after working on masking tape for automobile painters. His work produced the first modern pressure-sensitive tapes. Drew had joined 3M in 1921 as a lab technician after leaving the University of Minnesota. He spent his career working on products and received 30 U.S. patents. His inventions also influenced the way 3M approached research and product development.
