i watched dog soldiers last night, which i would highly recommend.
anyway, theres one bit in it where they have to seal up a large wound, so they use superglue, and one of the characters says it was originally developed to fix broken soldiers in vietnam, and thats why its so good at sticking your fingers together.
is it true? seems plausible
I worked at a model shop and we used to purchase super glue from medical supply companies.
However, it is important to note that superglue used for suturing is of a medical grade, not your average ‘krazy glue’ you can but at the store.
I hit my head on a wall-corner a couple of years ago (arsing about with a friend and fell backwards). The hospital used a medical glue to close my wound.
This story matches what I remembered reading many years ago. The OP and the Wikipedia definition are the first mention that I’ve heard of the Vietnam/medical connection.
Perhaps unjustly, I have a distrust of the Wikipedia project. The idea is cool - an encyclopedia written by volunteers and free for all to use - I just don’t know how well it is edited and checked for accuracy.
You could say the same thing about this message board, but here at least there is a good chance that you will be called on an incorrect factual answer - and the ensuing argument is visible for everyone to judge the truth.
More evidence that the Wikipedia entry is incomplete:
http://www.google.de/search?q=cache:s6t07WASn4wJ:voh.chem.ucla.edu/vohtar/spring00/30H/pdf/Brubaker.pdf+cyanoacrylate+superglue+history&hl=de&ie=UTF-8