Superglue: One Drop, Two Reactions, Five Mistakes
Superglue looks like the simple adhesive: one part, no mixing, seconds to set. But underneath that five-dollar tube is a two-part reaction where the second part is the moisture already on your surface — and that paradox explains almost every failed repair you've ever attempted. This episode digs into the cyanoacrylate family, from Harry Coover's twice-discovered lab accident at Kodak to the anionic polymerization that fires the bond, and walks through the five mistakes that break the joint: too much glue, releasing too soon, contaminated surfaces, the wrong plastic, and gaps. There's also a…
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