Wite-Out is a registered trademark for a brand of correction fluid, originally created for use with photocopies, and manufactured by the BIC corporation.
Wite-Out dates to 1966, when Edwin Johanknecht an insurance-company clerk, sought to address a problem he observed in correction fluid available at the time: a tendency to smudge ink on photostatic copies when it was applied.
Johanknecht enlisted the help of his associate George Kloosterhouse, a basement waterproofer who experimented with chemicals, and together they developed their own correction fluid, introduced as "Wite-Out WO-1 Erasing Liquid".
Douglas, as chairman, led the company toward solvent-based formulas with faster drying times.
New problems arose: a separate bottle of thinner was required, and the solvent used was known to contribute to ozone depletion.