How do stickers stick?

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

Lemonada Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.5 • 14.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Stickers are everywhere. They label our groceries, cover our car bumpers, and decorate our notebooks. But how do they stick? We’ll zoom in on a sticker to see how a special glue helps a sticker cling to a surface. Plus, we’ll hear about stickers that can help people heal from surgeries. We’ll also find out what kind of stickers Bob collects, and guess a new Mystery Sound. Guest: Phillip Messersmith, professor of material science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Want to support Brains On and all of the shows in the Brains On Universe? Sign up for Smarty Pass. You'll get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus content, virtual hangouts, discounts on merch and more! Click here for a transcript of this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Lemonada.
0:07.5	Brains on universe.
0:11.4	You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious.
0:16.3	Sometimes their faces, or flowers.
0:19.7	They can be unicorns. Or price tags. Some are sparkly. Or flowers. They can be unicorns.
0:21.1	Or price tags.
0:22.6	Some are sparkly.
0:24.4	Others glow in the dark.
0:26.0	Some of them even smell.
0:29.4	Mmm, this one's blueberry.
0:31.3	We're talking about stickers, and there's a million and one uses for them.
0:35.4	From labeling groceries and decorating water bottles. To wearable name tags or even patching up
0:40.5	holes inside our bodies.
0:42.4	So imagine a patch and then the surgeon just presses it onto the tissue and it sticks to the
0:48.5	tissue.
0:49.1	So it's kind of like an internal bandage.
0:52.9	That's sticker scientist Phil Messerschmith.
0:55.1	We'll hear more from him later.
0:56.7	Plus, we'll tell you how stickers do the one thing they're most famous for.
1:00.1	Stick to stuff.
1:01.2	So tag along for this episode.
1:03.5	Stick with us.
	...

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