3M’s Post-notes have turned out to be one of the marketing wonders of the decade. Yet virtually at every turn, experts lined up against the idea. Fry faced opposition from many 3M designers and engineers, who were convinced the note pads could not be made. Mechanical engineers told Fry he could not uniformly apply the adhesive to paper. Fry believed he could and assembled a small-scale machine in his basement. Within a few months, he had a machine that churned out the first tear-off pads. The company eagerly planned to move the machinery to the 3M plant, but with all of Fry's adjustments, the machine had grown too big to be carried out the door. The basement wall was knocked out, the machine moved, and production of the pads soon began on a small scale at the 3M plant. The "Press'n'Peel" pads were tested within the company, where staffers quickly became addicted to the notes (the name was later changed to Post-it ® Notes). It took another five years to perfect the specifications and design machines to manufacture the product. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980. Today they are one of the most popular office products available and are used world-wide in the workplace and homes. The basic product evolved into an entire product line. Post-it ® Notes have become one of the mainstays of the modern office and 3M’s most famous product. 3M also has applied Silver’s polymer adhesive to more than 300 new applications, ranging from medical bandages to reusable interior-decorating kits.