Who really invented Liquid Paper?

chemisttree

Bette Nesmith Graham is credited with the invention but she had help. Anyone know who and why she needed the help?

Evo

I'm not sure what you are asking. She was a secretary and decided to find a better way to correct typing errors.

What do you mean by help? I've always read that she came up with it alone in her kitchen.

http://inventors.about.com/od/lstart...quid_paper.htm

A more detailed write-up.

http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/nesmith.html

jim mcnamara

I'd go with what Evo says, except that the old liquid paper had solvents that folks did not just happen upon at the corner store. Evo, did she have courses in Chemistry?

See this page for a hint about what I mean:

http://www.liquidpaper.com/main.taf?p=5&q=3
I think the solvent was an ether - definitely not diethyl ether, but I'm not sure. Obviously it was toxic/explosive or both toxic && explosive. It doesn't pass OSHA muster nowadays. But then, when I was a kid, every paint (with driers) known to man, had lead based driers. Boy, those paint chips had real flavor back then. The modern ones are no good they need, um, they need salt or something. um.

chemisttree

Both of you are close. Her original product dissolved the ink from the paper and caused an off white spot. She got help from a fabulous chemist to perfect her idea. Any idea who?

Evo

Are you talking later on when she patented the formula? The only reference I've seen to a chemist after her product started getting popular is to an un-named highschool chemistry teacher.

White out would smear the ink, and it still does so today if you rub the whiteout back and forth.

chemisttree

Yes, someone helped perfect her idea which made it a salable product.

jim mcnamara

Okay. Upon further googling, her son Michael Nesmith, had a Chemistry teacher in high school. He collobarated with her on LP. caveat: This is wickedpedia speaking. All the other sites are essentially devoid of information or disinformation about LQ.

I see no mention of a putatively famous chemist though. Any futher googlage will require your fingers, not mine.

chemisttree

The original (not the one Nesmith Graham developed independently) had chlorinated solvents which are toxic. The new formula doesn't have them.

Evo

So you are claiming someone else also invented a type of "white-out", but not the famous one which became liquid paper that Graham invented by herself? That's a completely different question.

What was the name of this other independantly invented product? Did it ever sell?

chemisttree

No, I'm saying that the Wiki article is wrong (gasp). It wasn't her son's high school chemistry teacher.

Evo

This is the first time you've mentioned wikipedia. I haven't read the wiki article. The only reference I've seen to a high school teacher is this on the Liquid paper site. It doesn't mention it being her son's teacher.

Gokul43201

jim mentioned the wiki.

If I had one guess, I'd go with Cotton.

Incidentally, Michael Nesmith is the Michael Nesmith of The Monkees!!

Evo

Gokul invented White-Out! (He's much older than he leads us to believe).

chemisttree

The inventor was indeed a Chemistry teacher (at a local university) but his day job was as a professional chemist.

http://www.women-inventors.com/Bette-Nesmith-Graham.asp
A minor correction here. Graham didn't continue to experiment with the makeup of the substance until she achieved the perfect combination of paint and several other chemicals but, rather, caused it to be done by another. And then patented the improvement and the rest is history.

Evo

So, you're saying Graham did not invent White-Out/Liquid paper? Please post a link to where you are getting this information. I've only seen Graham credited with inventing the product ALONE. Subsequent improvements had input from others, so what?

You first said she had help, then you said some chemistry teacher invented an alternative to it, now you're saying some chemistry teacher invented it. I can find nothing to back up either of your claims that she did not invent it.

Gokul43201

Evo, I think Chemistree is asking us a trivia question (probably from personal experience).

Cotton is wrong. Who is it?

Evo

Read my last post. He keeps changing who invents what. He's not making any sense.

Chemistree if you are saying that it's not true that Graham invented the original product, then you need to back that up.

If you mean to ask if anyone knows the name of the chemist that later helped her, then ask that.