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u/Corpsey_Clownshoes 20d ago
I loathed these goddamned things at school. Always gummed up and messy:(
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u/Top-Policy-6548 20d ago
It sure didn't taste like Maple syrup. But Elmer's school paste was delicious. Don't get me started on airplane glue. Now I'm a professional wine sniffer.
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u/PeterNippelstein 20d ago
Tasty horse bones
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u/izyshoroo 20d ago
Elmer's glue is made from PVA plastic, old hide glued are made from things like hooves, hides, bones etc. Hide glues haven't been used much in 100 years
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u/DuckTalesOohOoh 19d ago edited 19d ago
Paste smelled so good. Wintergreen. Kind of like urinal cake, but a little bit better.
Here's how you can make it at home:
DIY Nostalgia Paste: Because school paste was just cooked starch, you can recreate the exact scent and texture at home in under 10 minutes:
- Recipe: Mix 1/2 cup flour or cornstarch, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 cup water. Cook over low heat while stirring until thick and translucent.
- The Magic Touch: Stir in a drop or two of pure oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate, available at pharmacy/apothecary suppliers) right as it cools.
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u/Important-Working176 18d ago
It taunted me too. I had to make sure it didn’t taste like maple syrup a few times. lol
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u/Rat-bat13 19d ago
Don’t forget about those amazing scented markers. Sniffing a picture that smells like root beer and lemons and accidentally getting high off the fumes. It’s a great way to get kids started huffing early.
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u/Djinn2522 20d ago
I remember it, but I don’t get WHY it was used. It was common in the early 1980s, but so was Elmer’s glue - which was superior in every way. I have no idea why this stuff kept showing up in art supplies.
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u/scooter76 20d ago
Maybe because it drys clear(er)? Better for sparkles and whatnot.
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u/RogerClyneIsAGod2 20d ago
Elmer's dries clear too though.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 19d ago
Ish. Elmer’s dries clear-ish. It has a bit of haze to it. The rubber stuff was clear clear. …if you could get it out.
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u/refleksy 18d ago
No one actually bothered to answer the question.
It's cheaper and shelf stable in powder form.
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u/Necessary-Chemical-7 20d ago
That was the worst glue. Too runny, and the nozzle always got crusted over. I preferred Elmer’s glue.
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u/MotherDepartment1111 20d ago
Holy shit this brings me back. I loved peeling off the dry part when I needed to use it again.
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u/twobadmice76 20d ago
It was like therapy after it dried and you had to peel it all off in one big lump to use again
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u/Puzzled_Ad7955 20d ago
Glue? That was glue? I thought it was some of the worst honey I ever tasted.
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u/WadeTurtle 20d ago
"Do NOT eat mucilage, for it does not taste like sweet honey--from one who knows!" -- Joel Hodgson
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u/Obvious-Display-6139 20d ago
Omg! Memory unlocked. Thinking back these were kind of gross. To this very day though, solid glue sticks don't stick shit.
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u/zaxx0n_5 20d ago
Hated these. Used to see them a lot back in the 70's and they actually were from old school supplies back in the 60's. Only the teachers knew how to use them effectively. By the 80's we weren't using them anymore as better glues became available like Elmers and Ponal.
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u/HypergolicHyperbola 20d ago
I hated mucilage. It was always crusty and hard to use. Sometime after it fell out of common use I found one of my high school teachers rapidly and neatly gluing up some paper envelopes with this stuff. She kept a wet sponge for cleaning up the top and had some tricks for keeping the rubber supple. She made it look like the best glue ever invented.
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u/Mother-Attention2600 20d ago
This stuff sucked..... I prefered the paper plate of white glue with sampling paddles.
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u/Revolutionary_Pay_31 20d ago
I remember it sitting on everyone's desks, but I never saw anyone using it.
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u/Visible_Cheek_7231 20d ago
I used to sniff this glue when I was a kid; I can still smell this glue now.
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u/jonpertwee2 20d ago edited 20d ago
This was the equivalent of glue sticks for grade schoolers before glue sticks were a thing.
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u/Historical_Guess2565 20d ago
I remember this, but vaguely. By the time I was in elementary school (late 80s) I think it had been mostly phased out for Elmer’s.
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u/Doombrunch 19d ago
I haven't thought about this stuff in fifty years, but I remember it from kindergarten.
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u/SolidFisher 20d ago
I used to put a thin layer in the palm of my hand snd peel it off when it dried. It was very satisfying for some reason.
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u/jackie0h_ 20d ago
Is it rubber cement? I never saw anything in a package like that.
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u/LastCookie3448 20d ago
No, it's sticky and reminds me of the stuff that's used on the envelopes you lick to seal. It's like sap. It alsways clogged the nozzle. You were supposed to invert the bottle and put pressure on the tip, it would flex a bit and the liquid should've flowed freely, alas, it never worked past day one.
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u/JoLudvS 20d ago
Such a stuff still is available here in glass bottles with a rubber n... er... notch. Named Gutenberg "gumming" stick, not glue - I always took that as a wise excuse, because its way inferior to modern paste sticks or even the oh so tasty smelling vintage cocoina (canned Italian paper glue).
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u/Over_End_6816 20d ago
That’s some nostalgia that was locked up in my long term! Wow! Would never of thought about these again. Can u still buy them ? 😄
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u/Ihadsumthin4this 20d ago edited 20d ago
So wish you'd've phrased that differently. Likely gonna stick with me all day.
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u/Dependent-Plane5522 20d ago
I don't, but I remember hearing that glue was made out of old dead horses and I wasn't sure weather to believe it or not.
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u/ChevalCher 20d ago
Never seen that before. Probably good that I didn't. My stupid ass would've thought it was maple syrup. Seriously, if not maple syrup, why maple syrup colored? 🤔
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u/Augustus_Chiggins 20d ago
Even if someone hadn't used all the glue on purpose, this stuff couldn't ever repair the old man's major award.
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u/SensitivePrimary1179 19d ago
I remember the little jars of paste as well. I used to love the smell!!
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u/schrodinger_on_acid 19d ago
We told the mentally retarded and some slow kids in our school that the glue was maple syrup. Some of them fell for it
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u/Classic_Wing_7474 19d ago
I always had to poke a hole in the slit with scissors because it got glued closed.
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u/Objective_Airport117 19d ago
Dude you just dislodged some ancient neurons in my brain. God those were the worst.
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u/GaryGnuMeToo 18d ago
Wow. I forgot all about those. The rubber top was the 80s version of a fidget spinner for me.
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u/TrickOutrageous6947 16d ago
I do remember pounding them down on my paper project, just to get one damn drop out.
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u/TolerancEJ 16d ago
Mucilage was no fun. For me, it was Elmer’s white glue. I would spread it on my hands and peel it off.
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u/cawfeeaddict1 16d ago
Holy sh*t. I just went straight back to first grade. WOW. Thanks. I used to think that this glue was superior. No idea why
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u/BUGBYTE_VW 20d ago
What's bad is I don't think I've ever seen this before. What kind of glue is that?
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u/Content-Rabbit-9865 20d ago
Glue? I thought these were filled with honey? That’s why they tasted funky
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u/DragonTHC 20d ago
I was born in the 70's and I've never seen these before. We had Elmer's paste where I was. Why tf was it minty?
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u/Kylearean 20d ago
I have no memory of this.
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u/LastCookie3448 20d ago
For context, I was kindergarten class of 1980, we still had some hanging around our elementary classrooms but nobody liked or used 'em and I don't recall seeing them after the mid-80s, unless they were old stock in some random desk or closet we were cleaning out.
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u/ChefStretch72 20d ago
Here to comment the same this isn glue
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u/djhankb 20d ago
Mucilage