Bibliography:   Book: Aaseng, Nathan. The Unsung Heroes. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1989. CD-ROM:  "Band-Aids," Microsoft Encarta. 1995 Internet: 75 Years of Band-Aids  75 Years of Band-Aid. April 30, 2000. http://www.savetz.com/bandaid/  (May 15,2000)

Back in the 1920's there was a newlywed that was living in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Earl Dickson, her husband, worked at Johnson and Johnson.  everyday hen Earl came home from his job being a cotton buyer, his wife, Josephine would always have dinner ready on the table. Unfortunately, she would also have many cuts or burns her fingers.  Without adhesive bandage, Josephine had no way to bandage her own cuts. Earl had to cut pieces of adhesive tape and cotton gauze and make a bandage for each wound.  This happened every day, Josephine needed more bandages.  After several weeks of kitchen accidents, Earl got a bright idea.  Earl sat down and prepared some ready-made badges by placing squares of cotton gauze along an adhesive strip and covering them with crinoline.  Now Josephine just had to cut off a length of the strip and place it on her cut. Earl told his boss about his new invention and the first adhesive bandages were being produced soon and sold under the world famous Band-Aid Brand trademark.  Earl was then rewarded with the Vice- president position on the company, where he stayed until his retirement.  Unfortunately- the hand-made bandages that Earl and his wife made did not sell very successfully. Only $3000 worth of the handmade bandages sold in the first year. The New York Times reported that the home made bandages were two and a half inches long, and eighteen inches long. Maybe they were a little large for the average person? By 1924, the Band-Aids were produced by machines and the sales rocketed. Maybe it was also because they were greatly reduced in size.  Even though Earl received very little of the credit when the Band-Aids were first put out, he was not cut out completely in the end (as you can see, because if he was, I would not be writing about him right now, would I?) As before stated, the company made him vice-president, and eventually a member of the board of members. He, unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy his early retirement he passed away on September 22, 1961. At the time he passed away, the company was selling over $30,000,000 worth of Band-Aids each year. Even though Earl did not get a whole lot of money they did make him something better in the company.  Earl did not like become a higher rank in the company so when he left, he was happier.  He go to spend more time with his wife.    Band-Aids would not be invented right now if it was not for: Sterilized gauze. With out the gauze there would be no way to have something over the tape strip. You would have to put the tape right onto your skin and that would not work.  there also had to be tape.  I mean sterile tape.  Like adhesives.  they had to be made so that ild stick to your skin and not come off.  Let's take a minute and think about life without Band-Aids........ Do you think that more people would be at the doctors??? Or how would you do things if you had a cut that could not get wet???  If there were no Band-Aids then there would be more and more infections leading into more serious diseases. Band-Aids now can be waterproof and now even have things on it to help it like antibiotics.