What began as an attempt to perfect weapon sights in combat ended up being something completely different.
During the Second World Warprecisely after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a scientist named Harry Coover Junior, who worked for the military army, tried to use a material called cyanoacrylate to improve gun sights used by soldiers.
However, something counterproductive to its use occurred, as it was very stickybecame dirty quickly and affected vision, making it completely useless on the battlefield. When the Second World War ended, the scientist tried to continue perfecting this invention, which was tested in the Korean War, but it also failed. Its sticky nature made it a poor element for this function.
Cyanoacrylate
Super Glue: from a failed military experiment to the most popular glue in the world
But this gave him an idea, if its nature was so adherent, perhaps it would be better suited for another element, such as a glue, or rather, a super glue. This meant that for the next war in which the United States participated, cyanoacrylate was already adopted for this function, and there it was a success.
Its use had changed radically, but it was very useful at a military level on the battlefield. This super glue created from the material served to save a large number of soldiers who had been injured in the clashes. Doctors discovered the adhesion capacity of Super Glue in parts of the human body and used it that way. Specifically, to close open hemorrhages caused by gunshot or shrapnel wounds, which were one of the main causes of mortality among the North American contingent during this conflict.
Why did Super Glue save so many lives during the Vietnam War?
Many of the American soldiers did not die instantly, many were injured during the skirmishes and had to hold on long enough until an evacuation helicopter could take them to a medical point where close your hemorrhages.
With the implementation of this new element, Battlefield deaths dropped below 1%. When they found an injured soldier, they used the glue to cover the bleeding and this ensured that when he took him to the health center he would be out of danger.
Nowadays, it has become a basic tool in the chests of all Americans.
Source: Ambito
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