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One Sugru user used the multipurpose goo to keep oak branches together. Sugru.com

Irish invention makes Time's Top 50 inventions of 2010

Sugru – a dough that “looks like Play-Doh” but “acts like Super Glue” – makes a major list of top new inventions.

GOOD NEWS after a long week for Ireland – an Irish invention has been featured in Time Magazine’s list of the best 50 inventions of the year.

Malleable adhesive ‘Sugru‘ – which, as the magazine acts “looks like Play-Doh, [but] acts like Super Glue” – makes the list, which does not exclusively include inventions, but also features the top films and music of the year.

The invention – the brainchild of designer Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh – took six years to bring to market, and professes to allow its owner ‘hack’ (or generally tweak and fix) everyday things so that they generally work better.

As Time suggests, the substance – which is malleable when bought but which sets at room temperature if left alone – can be used to soften hard corners, mould the inside of a shoe, or fitted around a door handle to make it “grippier”.

What’s more, the goo is waterproof, dishwasher-proof, can resist temperatures between -60 °C and 180 °C. It also remains flexible when set, so it can be used to seal non-static things like textiles or electrical cable. The product’s blog and gallery are also goldmines of various uses for the multipurpose goo.

Other products included in the Time Top 50 are the iPad, iPhone-friendly credit card payment system Square, Google’s car that works without a driver, and an indestructible ‘Iron Man Suit’, so Sugru is certainly in good company.

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