We fall; we hurt ourselves, slap on a Band-Aid, and do not think twice about it. Even if we did, it would not be about the origin of the Band-Aid.

Band-Aid is actually the brand name of America’s famous Johnson & Johnson’s sticking plasters or bandages.

Earle Dickson first invented them in 1920 because of his wife Josephine. Earle was working as a cotton buyer for Johnson & Johnson’s at that time.

Josephine used to burn herself and cut herself quite often in the kitchen and used to bandage her wounds up with gauze and sticky tape.

Earle noticed how this dressing never seemed to stay on her fingers for too long, because they used to slip off.

This gave him the idea to invent something that would stay in place, and protect small wounds like minor cuts and bruises.

Earle took his invention to Johnson & Johnson’s, the company produced it, and eventually Earle became the vice-president of the company.

At the beginning however, many people were not sure about how good this product was.

During the early 1920s they switched to producing sterilized Band-Aids by machine.

By the time of World War II, the company began shipping millions abroad and the product became a success.

In the 1950s, decorated Band-Aids were produced. These had pictures of Superman, the Rugrats, smiley faces, Barbie, Hello Kitty, Batman, and many more.

We ought to thank Earle Dickson for paying so much attention to his wife’s bandages, or else we would not have Band-Aids for our small cuts and bruises.