Why doesn't superglue stick to the tube

A. The tube contains lots of oxygen, which prevents the glue sticking to anything while it's inside the tube. Once squeezed into the atmosphere, the contact with moisture in the air activates the stickiness. As the two surfaces are squeezed together, this eliminates as much oxygen as possible and they stick together.

Q. What is superglue made of

A. Its technical term is cyanoacrylate.

Q. When was it first made

A. In the 1950's by Professor Vernon Kreible of Trinity College Hartford, USA. Its infamy started after one drop was used to lift a man from the floor on a TV programme.

Shop sales of the domestic product began in 1977.

Q. Isn't its ability to stick to skin a problem

A. It can be if used inappropriately and there are plenty of stories about hospital cases of unfortunate superglue victims.

But superglues ability to stick to skin is actually very beneficial: it can be used to glue, rather than stitch, around one third of wounds. The glue doesn't need to be removed once the wound has healed, it's easier to administer than stitches in many cases and because it doesn't hurt at all it's excellent for treating reluctant patients, especially children.

Q. What kinds of inappropriate use

A. There are various amusing and tragic stories, which may or may not be true.

In Peru a wheelchair bound man apparently starved to death after supergluing his teeth together. In the north of England a man about to be arrested tried preventative measures by super gluing himself to his girlfriend. But perhaps the most embarrassing anecdote is of a woman forced to attend casualty with her hands superglued to her partner's genitals.

Do you want to know why something only works in certain circumstances Click here to ask.

by Lisa Cardy