WEBVTT

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In a Moment of Vision...

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It's the 1940s, the height 
of World War II, Rochester, New York.

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A chemist by the name of Harry Coover
is conducting research for Eastman Kodak.

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He and his team are looking 
for a clear plastic

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to produce precision gunsights 
for the military.

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They begin working with a family
of chemicals called cyanoacrylates,

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but find, to their extreme annoyance,

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that the chemicals stick 
to everything permanently.

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The cyanoacrylates are discarded.

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After the war, Coover is working at
Kodak's chemical plant in Tennessee.

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This time, he and his team are researching

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heat-resistant polymers
for jet airplane canopies.

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They try cyanoacrylates, but find,
to their great frustration,

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that the chemicals stick 
to everything permanently.

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Again, the cyanoacrylates are discarded.

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Coover, however, in a moment of vision,

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realizes that the quality that makes these
chemicals so infuriating to work with

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is exactly what makes them valuable.

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He takes out a patent 
and begins marketing a super glue.

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Years later during the Vietnam War,

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field medics find that using super glue
on an open wound

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instantly stops the bleeding,

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saving countless lives.

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Today, medical grade super glue
is still used in surgery,

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but it's also a nearly indispensable
household item.