---
name: Post-It Notes
slug: post-it-notes
type: physical_object / psychological_hazard
status: unstable
version: 0.0.666-alpha
released: 1974-04-06T00:00:00Z
maintainer: Spencer Silver (accidental) / Art Fry (intentional) / your refrigerator (current)
dependencies:
  - [adhesive failure](/adhesive-failure)
  - [short-term memory](/short-term-memory)
  - [surfaces that are slightly too smooth](/surfaces-that-are-slightly-too-smooth)
  - guilt
license: Sticky Commons v2 (non-transferable, literally)
tags:
  - paper
  - reminder
  - entropy
  - neon
  - forgotten
  - haunted_object
  - office
  - 3M
build: UNSTABLE (do not deploy near wind)
checksum: unknown. they moved.
---

Post-It Notes

What it actually is

A small square of paper held in place by a adhesive failure so precise it constitutes a philosophical statement about commitment.

How it works

User perceives something worth remembering
User writes the thing on the note in handwriting they will not recognize in 48 hours
Note is applied to surface with confidence
Note observes surface
Surface does not care
Note migrates
Note is found months later behind the radiator, bearing a single word: TUESDAY
No context survives
Return to step 1

"I have seventeen of them on my monitor. I have read zero of them today." — every knowledge worker, continuously, since 1980

Features

Colors: canary yellow (canonical), pink (chaotic), blue (melancholy), green (optimistic, naive)
Adhesive rated for: 3 to 4 repositions before achieving independence
Surface area: sufficient for the thought you had, insufficient for the thought you meant
Comes in pads. The pad is never where you left the pad.
Compatible with: refrigerators, laptops, mirrors, the foreheads of colleagues who fall asleep in meetings

Known bugs

ERR_ADHESIVE_EXCEEDED       :: note has left the building
ERR_HANDWRITING_UNRESOLVED  :: author unknown. possibly you. probably not.
ERR_CONTEXT_MISSING         :: "CALL DAVE" — which Dave. when. why.
ERR_STACK_OVERFLOW          :: monitor fully occluded. user flying blind.
ERR_COLOR_ANXIETY           :: user spent 4 minutes choosing between yellow and pink
                               for a note that says "milk"
WARN_INFINITE_LOOP          :: note says "write notes more clearly"
                               note is illegible
FATAL_MIGRATION             :: note found on cat

NOTE: If your spec reaches FATAL_MIGRATION there is no recovery path. The note knows things now.

Edge cases

Applied to mirrors: user reads note while making eye contact with themselves. Psychological damage varies.
Applied to other notes: creates a palimpsest of forgotten urgencies, a stratigraphic record of past crises
Applied to food: this is a choice people make
Wet environments: the note will not survive but it will try. respect this.
Note written in erasable pen: you wrote nothing. you have always written nothing.

[section about organizational systems interrupted]

Look, the thing about color-coding is that it requires a taxonomy and a taxonomy requires

Changelog

Version	Notes
0.0.1	Spencer Silver invents glue that does not work. Files this under "failure."
0.1.0	Art Fry uses it to stop his hymnal bookmarks falling out. Civilization pivots.
1.0.0	Product launches. Offices change. attention spans begin their decline.
4.2.0	Digital equivalents released. Nobody uses them the same way. Nobody knows why.
0.0.666-alpha	You are here. The note on your monitor from March still says `URGENT`.

FAQ

Q: Are they biodegradable? A: Eventually. Like regret.

Q: What is the correct size? A: The thought fits or it doesn't. The note doesn't negotiate.

Q: Should I switch to a digital system? A: You will write this question on a Post-It Note and stick it to your monitor.

drafting spec…