Prompt Cast
The Story of Betty Graham and the Invention of Liquid Paper
TLDR Betty Graham invented liquid paper as a solution to fix typing errors caused by carbon ribbons smudging. Her invention quickly became popular and led to the creation of the Liquid Paper Company, which grew rapidly and faced a hostile takeover before being regained by Graham. Liquid Paper remains popular in the correction products market today.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Betty Newsome Graham, also known as Betty Claire McMurray, invented liquid paper, which was the precursor to Whiteout and other correction fluids.
02:02
Betty Graham created liquid paper, originally called "mistake out," as a solution to fix typing errors caused by carbon ribbons smudging, and it quickly became popular among her colleagues.
03:53
Betty Graham refined the liquid paper process in her kitchen with the help of a paint company employee and a chemistry teacher, and she eventually quit her job at the bank after accidentally signing a business document with her business's name and address, which led to the success of mistake out.
05:58
Betty Graham's business, now called the Liquid Paper Company, grew rapidly, with orders from big corporations like GE and IBM, and by 1975 she was selling 1 million bottles of Liquid Paper a year and had a 35,000 square foot headquarters in Dallas.
08:09
After building a successful company selling 25 million bottles of Liquid Paper and focusing on her foundations, Betty Graham was forced out of her own company in a hostile takeover by her ex-husband, but eventually regained control in 1979.
10:21
Liquid Paper has remained strong in the correction products market, potentially due to increased home printing during the pandemic and the support of artists and Gen Z.
12:30
Liquid Paper purists prefer the original correction fluid over tape-based correction products.
Categories:
Society & Culture
