Glue sticks were originally designed to glue paper and card together, as the glue was not as strong as some liquid based variants.
They can be used for craft and design, office use and at school.
 
There are now permanent, washable, acid-free, non-toxic, solvent free and dyed varieties. 

The manufacturers recommend replacing the cap after use and advise that, due to small parts (the cap), children under the age of three should not use it, though the glue is non-toxic so use with children over three is safe.
 
The glue stick as invented in 1969 by German company Henkel after studying the “twist-up ease” and convenience of lipstick applicators.

The product was released under the Pritt Stick brand. By 1971 the Pritt Stick was being sold in 38 countries and by 2001 in 121 countries.

The first solvent free multi-purpose glue stick that could be used for other materials (e.g. wood, glass and some plastics) was the “PowerPritt” which was put on the market in 2003.

The product was used in a sketch for the UK comedy show Little Britain, being sniffed by stereotypical hiphop character Vicky Pollard, as a spoof on sniffing glue
( Pritt Stick does not contain volatile solvents, making sniffing ineffectual). 

In the UK and Ireland, Pritt Stick has become a generic term used by the public to refer to any type of glue stick. In more than 30 years since the first “tubed glue” hit the market, Henkel has sold over 1 billion glue sticks.

Super glues are typically made from cyanoacrylate, which was discovered by Harry cover at Eastman Kodak during World War II.
 He was searching for a way to make plastic gun-sight lenses but it did not solve this problem, since it stuck to everything.
It was first marketed in February 1955 as a product called “Flash Glue” which is still available today.
It was patented in 1956 and developed into Eastman 910 adhesive in 1958.
The new glue was demonstrated in 1959 on the television show I’ve got a Secret when the host Garry Moore was lifted into the air by two steel plates held together with a drop of Eastman 910.