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Edible Stop Signs That Keep You From Eating the Entire Bag of Chips

Paying People to Drop Out of College

July 16, 2010 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

According to the Gazette-Times, Kaichang Li, a professor of wood science at Oregon State University, receives a dozen calls each day from businesses interested in his laboratory’s latest invention: an inexpensive adhesive made of natural materials.

He said they’re interested in the adhesive’s use of simple, reusable ingredients, including vegetable oil, which keeps costs down.

“If I gave you the recipe, you could cook it in your kitchen at home,” Li said.

Li and his team stumbled upon their discovery while trying to develop an all-natural adhesive that melts at high temperatures but is solid at room temperature, used for cardboard or wood furniture.

They didn’t reach their original goal, but found a pressure-sensitive adhesive – one that requires pressure for use – that can be used on all types of products, from duct tape to sticky notes to labels.

The vegetable oil-based adhesive is posed to make an impact: Li said environmentally friendly adhesives on the market today are expensive, adding that nearly all adhesives are made from petroleum-based chemicals.

“Even if we use up the world’s oil supply, we can still make tape” with this technology, Li said.