# Mucilage

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 20, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298 "2003-11-20T13:42:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298/1 "2003-11-20T13:42:50Z")

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In this time of trial and turmoil, I am proud to pose a truly pointless query.  
What the hell is mucilage? And why did people use it?

If you’re my age or so you remember mucilage – golden-yellow viscous fluid in a vaguely Coke-bottle-shaped container. It had a rubber nipple-type lid stretched on, with an angled tip. A slit across the middle of the tip allowed the mucilage out when you pressed it against paper, then resealed when you brought it back upright.

1. Why “mucilage”? Why not just call it “glue”, maybe with a qualifier. It’s not as if all glues are the same. This is just another glue that somehow earned a separate distinction.

2. Why use this stuff? It seemed to be intended to stick paper together. But people already use paper clips and staples, which work better. And it’s not as if mucilage was really good at its job. It stuck indifferently at best. It dried to a brittle, unbending film that tended to crumble, getting bits of dried mucilage everywhere and letting the papers fall apart. Rubber cement, which flexes, would’ve been a lot better.

3. What the hell was in the stuff? You never saw ingredients. I never saw a mucilage tree. You never heard about cows being rendered down into mucilage. There are no mucilage wells in Nevada. I personally suspect that it’s made from the blood of extraterrestrials kept in Area 51.

4. Where did it go? I don’t see it around anymore. Not that I’m complaining – I’ve given enough reasons to dispense with it. But it seemed to hang around for a long time – long enough for those ubiquitous glass bottles to be replaced by uglier plastic ones.  
Anybody know?

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**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298/2 "2003-11-20T14:23:51Z")

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Ahhhhhh…an adhesive from bygone days. I’m almost certain it is made of rendered parts.

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298/3 "2003-11-20T14:26:39Z")

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Cool! [Here’s a recipe](http://www.leighswishingwell.com/sdj/cr08.htm) to make your own mucilage.

I remember the stuff, and only after reading this post did I think “hey, what happened to it, anyhow?”

It took seven Google pages to find [a source for the strange substance](http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?group_id=1807&store=001). Yup, you can still get mucilage!

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mucilage/214298/4 "2003-11-20T14:32:19Z")

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Damn! mucilage really _is_ made from rendered cows! I thought I was making a joke.

So mucilage is basically glorified Jello? It has more in common with marshmallows than with “real” glue? No wonder it sticls so badly!