He holds 40 U.S. patents, but he's most interested in an invention for which he gets no credit: the Post-it Note, that ubiquitous sticky-back product made into a worldwide success by 3M .

Indeed, Google’s Keep note-taking service already embraces a sticky note-inspired design, while the Magic 8-Ball-like form of Amazon’s Echo Spot make it an ideal size for such miniature missives.

But using one paper sticky note after another causes a lot of clutter and can be pretty wasteful. Instead, assemble a bunch of surplus parts into a digital note system for your kitchen or office.

It all starts with Sticky Notes Type in your reminder on a new sticky note. Windows has had a built-in Sticky Notes program ever since Windows XP arrived nearly 15 years ago.

Pro-democracy protesters left hundreds of sticky notes on the wall of Hong Kong's government offices with messages responding to the question 'why are we here?' 03 October 2014 • 3:56pm .