So you're minding your own business, and suddenly take a spill. What's the best part about getting hurt? The sympathy? The bragging rights? Getting out of all that stuff you don't want to do? Yeah. All of the above. But nobody knows you deserve that giant pile of special treatment if they don't first see you sporting a band-aid. That's right! Nothing says “ow” like that little beige badge of honor. And hey- as a bonus, it also keeps small cuts and scrapes clean and protected. So who do we have to thank for the basis of every modern first-aid kit? Turns out, a notoriously accident-prone New Jerseyan named Josephine Knight Dickson (circa 1921). Mrs. Dickson was a super hard-working homemaker who couldn't seem to catch a break in the kitchen (or you could say catching too many breaks, if you know what I mean). Fortunately, she just happened to be married to a guy named Earle who just happened to work at medical supply company Johnson & Johnson. Earle kept mummy- er- mommy well-stocked with the typical bandages of the day, but they were just too bulky for small cuts and scrapes on very busy hands. One evening after watching this painfully cumbersome drama unfold (yet again), Earle stumbled upon just the idea he was looking for. He realized that the smaller and lighter the bandages were, the better they stayed in place. So Earle's mission: Getting them smaller and stickier! He trimmed little squares of cotton gauze, affixed them to a roll of surgical tape, then wrapped everything in crinoline fabric to keep it clean (and so that his wife could unwind and scissor off exactly the size she needed). Josephine loved it. And so did Earle's Boss's Boss's Boss Mr. James Wood Johnson himself. In 1921, Band-Aid brand bandages hit store shelves. So the next time you've wounded your pride, cover that boo-boo with one of those billions of sterilized adhesive bandages now sold worldwide.

Illuminating Moments in American History
From the accidental invention of the microwave to the love story of rubber gloves, these 68 shorts chronicle the history of unexpected American innovation.

Produced, written, and directed by Nathan Marsh. Art and Animation by Joel West and Isaac Windham. Sound by Scott Sprague. Narration by Carol Munse.