Once upon a time, “dressing” a wound required gauze or cotton and tape. But if the wound was a mere nick, cut or scrape, hauling out the first aid kit was a bit of overkill. And just try to perform these tasks by yourself if the cut ended up on an arm or a hand.  Luckily for the scraped knees of the world, there was a man named Earl Dickson. Earl, a cotton salesman for Johnson and Johnson, took it upon himself to invent a way for his accident-prone wife to quickly dress wounds that she regularly received while preparing dinner.

 

His invention was simple: little squares of cotton gauze laid out on adhesive tape, spaced out, and ready to be cut into a convenient length.  He covered the gauze bits with crinoline to keep the ready-to-use bandages sterile and - voila - Mrs. Dickson could take care of her own cuts and scrapes.  Earl presented his invention to the company, and the rest (as they say) is history.

 

Well...except for one little problem. During the first year of production, a mere $3,000 worth of the bandages had sold.  Handmade and measuring in at 3 x 18 inches, Band-Aids were still a bit unwieldy for most folks. It would take a successful publicity stunt, one that involved handing out boxes of the scrape-healers to Boy Scout troops, to begin healing the popularity of the brand. In 1929, new machinery would also lend a much-needed helping hand, making it possible to quickly produce always-sterile bandages in a variety of sizes. The future for Band-Aids was on the mend, as was Earl's stature with the company. He eventually went on to become vice-president of Johnson and Johnson (before retiring in 1957) and Band-Aid went on to achieve sales of $30 million annually.

 

Throughout the years, Johnson and Johnson has improved upon the Band-Aid concept, from offering specialized bandages for knuckles, finger tips or eyes, to introducing materials like sheer vinyl, cloth and special materials meant to reduce the “ouch factor” of removing one from the skin.  There are even playful designs for children (and the young at heart, of course.)  In 1956, Band-Aid began offering their very first decorated bandages, called “Stars ‘n Strips.” Today, they offer a full selection of kid-friendly protection adorned with classic characters like Peanuts, Batman and Mickey Mouse, as well as newer cartoons and film cross-promotion bandages. And let’s certainly not forget the glow-in-the-dark version. The only thing that could make a scraped elbow seem cooler to a kid is one that glows in the dark.

 

Oh, and perhaps you remember the catchy little ditty (one almost as adhesive to the brain as a band-aid was to a wound), “I am stuck on Band-Aids - cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.” This long-lived and highly successful ad campaign reminded everyone for over a decade that band-aids were (relatively) impervious to water.

 

How popular are Band-Aids today? Popular enough that the term “band-aid” has found itself included within the lexicon of popular culture. A band-aid now means a temporary fix for any problem. And for millions of kids sporting minor scrapes and cuts, there are few sights more welcome that that little adhesive strip, ready and able to handle any boo-boo with ease.

 

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