This bubble gum doesn't taste right.... (Bostik Blu Tack)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	Bostik Blu Tack
Date:	10/07/09 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Super Idea

Disadvantages: leaves oily marks after a while

This is my second review of something chewy and rubbery this week, with today's write-up focusing on a product that we all take for granted - 'Blu-Tack'.

Costing around £2 from craft-shops for the sleeve-style pack, Blu-Tack is a clean and safe adhesive which doesn't dry out and is completely re-useable.

Blu-Tack was invented in the early 70's by a chap named Austin Carpenter, who presumably had a large collection of posters which he didn't want to nail to his walls! It is claimed that Blu-tack was originally white-tack, and the blue colouring was added so that kids didn't think it was an edible substance. The thinking behind this seems a little odd to me, as I would definitely find blue colouring more appetizing than white. Actually, I do remember chewing on Blu-Tack a few times during my childhood, but then, I'm told I ate a tube of 'Evo-Stick' when I was very young.

Blu-Tack has a number of uses, and as well as sticking things to surfaces, it can be used as a cleaning device, allowing you to zap-up bits of fluff from fabric, and also remove muck from between the keys of a computer's keyboard. The Blu-Tack packaging suggests that the adhesive has "1000's of uses" - but it clearly doesn't. In fact, im going to write a letter to the manufacturer's Bostik asking them to name them all.

As a teenager, I used to have masses of Blu-Tack in my room, holding up the various posters which adorned the walls and ceiling. That said, I remember never having enough Blu-tack when I needed it, and always having to rely on finding a few scraps in one of those draws in the house which seem to have loads of useless bits and pieces in them - you know the sort - the draw which randomly houses a screwdriver, some toy that came free in a cereal packet, a key to God-knows-what, and a bicycle pump.

Anyway, one night I was woken by a large Jurassic Park poster falling off the wall on top of me, which made me appreciate the fact that Blu-Tack doesn't always work best on matte surfaces - In fact, it works best on glossy surfaces, and will stick very well to glass, metal and other shiny things. I even read a letter from someone on the Blu-tack website who said that he used the product to stick his hat to his bald head in the wind.... weirdo.


When I got to an age where I wanted all the posters removed from my walls, I remember ripping them off and seeing the oily splodges that years of Blu-Tack abuse can leave behind. Apparently these marks can be removed with chewing-gum remover, but in my case, the problem got solved with a quick lick of paint.

All in all, Blu-Tack is an excellent product, and such a simple but effective idea - I'd love to buy Austin Carpenter a pint for his excellent invention which has suited many of my sticking needs over the years.

Blu-Tack Fact of the Day (courtesy of Wikepedia)
Artist Elizabeth Thompson created a giant 200 kilogram sculpture of a spider using Blu-Tack over a wire frame. It took 4000 packs and was exhibited at London Zoo in 2007.

If the sculpture idea has inspired you, then the Blu-Tack website (www.Blu-Tack.co.uk) has a gallery section where users are encouraged to send in their Blu-Tack based artistic creations for the world to see.

Summary: Blu-tacky stuff!