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The Last Interview With the Inventor of Super Glue: We Aren't Sticking to Science

While the just-last-week-deceased Harry Coover never received any royalties from his invention of Super Glue, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology last year by the President. Just beforehand, he sat for an interview with the president of the...

While the just-last-week-deceased Harry Coover never received any royalties from his invention of Super Glue, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology last year by the President. Just beforehand, he sat for an interview with the president of the Super Glue Corporation, who showed him the Super Glue app – you tell it what you’re gluing, it tells you which Super Glue you need, seriously – and heard Coover talk about his passion for dogs, his frustration with the President (even if he got his facts wrong), his vision of the future (he spends lots of time online Internet), and his concerns about American science and engineering education (“show them how exciting how much fun it can be!”).

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We’ll be absolutely amazed at the progress that’s been made in all feidls of science. A lot of people think we’ve accomplished everything we can accomplish…. [but we’ll have] a replacement of the technology or an enhancement of the technology, far beyond what anyone ever dreamed of. But I’m afraid we’re falling behind on leadership. China graduated more engineers than we did. I think that’s something we should be concerned about.

Adorably, Coover offers his services multiple times during the interview, apparently forever stuck on his inventor life. “If something comes up, that you think I might have an idea or something, don’t hesitate to give me a call,” he says. “I’m not an old man mentally!” You’ll be missed, Harry.