1. True or False: It was a newlywed’s poor knife skills that first inspired the invention of the BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage in 1920.
True
Back before meal kits and takeout were dinnertime staples, Josephine Knight Dickson was tasked with cooking her new household’s meals. She often got minor cuts and burns on her hands in the process, around which she’d wrap and knot strips of fabric. A sensible hack, to be sure, but perhaps not the most secure—or sterile.
Enter her new husband, Earle Dickson, a Johnson & Johnson cotton buyer who had an Aha! moment about an easier, and more effective, way she could dress her wounds while working in the kitchen.
2. What two Johnson & Johnson innovations were used to make the first ever BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage?
Adhesive tape and gauze
Earle Dickson’s bright idea for his wife’s wound protection fused two popular Johnson & Johnson surgical products into one game-changing innovation. He laid a narrow strip of sterile gauze down the middle of a strip of adhesive tape, then covered the tape with a piece of crinoline so he could roll it up without it sticking to itself. Josephine could simply unroll and snip off a piece of the tape/gauze combo whenever she needed it.
The prototype worked so well that Earle eventually shared it with the top brass at Johnson & Johnson. Impressed, they rolled out the first mass-marketed BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage in 1921—a move that changed the trajectory of Johnson & Johnson, which was then primarily a surgical company, and later earned Dickson a spot in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
3. What popular customer-requested feature resulted in the creation of a new material for BAND-AID® Brand Skin-Flex® adhesive bandages in 2017?
Touch-screen friendly
With more time at home these days, it’s safe to say most of us are logging more hours than ever on our phones and tablets. Not to worry: There’s a bandage with a built-in special feature for all that extra screen time. BAND-AID® Brand Skin-Flex® adhesive bandages’ lightweight, super-flexible and touch-screen friendly fabric makes it a cinch to scroll even with a cut finger.
4. BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages first came packaged as ...
A roll
Vintage BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage brand tins, sold from 1926 to the 1990s, are a collector’s item today. But before the advent of the tins, the strips were sold as a long, single roll of tape consumers had to snip into the length they needed, just like Josephine Dickson did.
5. True or False: People had to be taught how to use BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages when they were first introduced to the market.
True
While their simple peel-and-stick application may seem like second nature to us today, the average American wasn’t sure what to do with the revolutionary product when it first hit the market. (In fact, Johnson & Johnson only sold a total of $3,000 worth of the bandages in its first year on shelves.)
To help spread the word, the company released informative ads detailing each step—cut off the length you need, remove the protective covering, and apply to the wound. It also tasked the company’s traveling salesmen to demo the product to doctors and pharmacists.
The space-bound strips hitched a ride in the astronaut kits of the Apollo 8—the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon and return safely to earth. And that wasn’t even their first trip into the final frontier.
6. In 1968, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages made the journey to ...
The moon
The space-bound strips hitched a ride in the astronaut kits of the Apollo 8—the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon and return safely to earth. And that wasn’t even their first trip into the final frontier.
In 1963, they accompanied the Mercury 7—the first American astronauts to head into outer space. Later, they tagged along with the Apollo 11 astronauts, who became the first humans to land on the moon in 1969, as part of their mission command module medical kits. How’s that for frequent-flier status?
7. True or False: The superior “sticking technology” of BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages were once showcased with an egg test.
True
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the catchy “I Am Stuck on BAND-AID® Brand” advertising jingle that played in TV commercials starting in 1975. What you may not know is that BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages ran a “Lift an Egg” ad on TV in 1956 that highlighted the superiority of its new “super-stick” bandage.
As an announcer narrated, a tester slid different brands of plastic bandages over a dry egg. While competitors’ bandages simply rolled over the shell, the BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage instantly clung on without any additional pressure, even lifting the egg along with it. Next, an egg was lowered into boiling water with a BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage attached to it, and even when submerged, the bandage didn’t loosen its grip—a sure boon to women who were doing their dishwashing by hand.
8. What year was BAND-AID® Brand’s first waterproof adhesive bandage released?
1932
That’s when BAND-AID® Brand introduced the DryBak Waterproof BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage. Its strong waterproof coating was created with an adhesive that helped prevent bandage sogginess and curling. It also had a new, narrower shape designed to fit the hand’s shape more closely.
Today, the brand’s product line has expanded to include the 100% waterproof BAND-AID® Brand Water Block® Clear Bandages, which feature a four-sided adhesive that keeps the pad dry while blocking out water, dirt and germs; and BAND-AID® Brand Hydro Seal® Bandages, which have a unique design that shields and cushions wounds to help keep out dirt and germs and prevent re-injury.
9. True or False: The BAND-AID® Brand teamed up with (RED) to help raise awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS.
True
In 2019, to further its commitment to #makeHIVhistory, BAND-AID® Brand entered into a partnership with (RED) to release (BAND-AID®)RED bandages. The (BAND-AID®)RED campaign hopes to mobilize people to #bandtogether with Johnson & Johnson in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Just buy one box of the bandages and you’ll pay for a day’s worth of lifesaving medication for someone living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
Through The Global Fund, BAND-AID® Brand and RED are also helping to distribute money to different organizations in sub-Saharan Africa that provide direct services to the community, like getting condoms and other preventive methods to people who need them.
10. BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages are decorated with everything from cartoon characters to fashion-friendly designs. What was the theme of the first mass-marketed decorated pack in 1956?
Stars and stripes
BAND-AID® Brand Stars ‘n Strips adhesive bandages were the brand’s first mass-marketed, decorated bandages—and they became an instant hit, featuring kid-friendly illustrations in an array of bright primary colors. To commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial celebration in 1976, the BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage reintroduced this iconic theme with a red, white and blue design.
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