Abstract: Disclosed are contact adhesives, containing aqueous polymeric latexes, particularly acrylic latexes. Contact adhesives are adhesives which dry to a non-tacky state but which will adhere to another surface of the same dried adhesive. A unique feature of the adhesives is that the polymer used therein has an extremely wide range of molecular weights with substantial proportions of the product having a low molecular weight and substantial portions having a very high molecular weight, preferably with fairly uniform progression from low molecular weight to high molecular weight. However, blends of a low molecular weight fraction and a high molecular weight polymer may also be used. The preferred procedure is to prepare an emulsion polymer by reacting part of the material in the reactor in such a way as to obtain a high molecular weight product and to react at least one other portion of the monomer in the same reactor in such a way as to obtain at least one low molecular weight fraction.