TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The substrates are selected from glass, a plastic, a metal, a fiber, a crystal, a mineral, a biological bone, a synthetic bone, a biological tissue, and/or synthetic tissue or their composites. The liquids are selected from water, a lubricant, a fouling agent, blood, a surfactant, and/or polymeric precursor. At least one of the first and second adhesive elements comprises a flexible material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Components: The arrays of tapered protrusions or tapered grooves are arranged periodically, non-periodically and/or randomly. The arrays of tapered protrusions or tapered grooves are interleaved. The first area is reversibly adhered to the second area. There is a reversible adhesive interaction of about 1 N/cm2 to about 100 N/cm2 between the first and second areas. The first area is irreversibly adhered to the second area. Greater than 30% of the total surface area that is desired to be contacted between the first array and the second array is reversibly adhered. At least one of the arrays of protrusions comprises a flexible material selected from flexible glass, flexible metal, poly(dialkylsiloxanes), poly(silsesquioxane), polyisoprene, polybutadiene, poly(styrene), a poly(acrylamide), poly(butylstyrene), poly(propylene), poly(ethylene), poly(styrene)-poly(propylene) copolymer, poly(styrene isoprene styrene) copolymer, a styrene butadiene copolymer, polychloroprene, an acryloxy elastomer, a fluorinated elastomer, and/or perfluorinated elastomers or their copolymers. The tapered protrusions and tapered grooves have tip portions having a lateral dimension of about 50 nm to about 50 mu m and base portions having a lateral dimension of about of about 1 mu m to about 100 mu m. The lateral dimensions of the tip portions and base portions of the protrusions or grooves have dimensional ratio of about 1:2 to about 1:2000. The tapered protrusions and tapered grooves have tapered body portions having a tapered sidewall with an average angle of taper of about 5 degrees to approaching 90 degrees . The first and second areas are on different substrates or are on the same substrate. The moldable material comprises a thermoelastic polymer having a Tg of about -50 to about 200 degrees C. The moldable material comprises a UV-curable material. The arrays of tapered protrusions or tapered grooves of the first and second adhesive elements have a periodicity that is complementary. Preferred Composition: The composition further comprises at least one liquid present between the first and second arrays. Preferred Method: The step of contacting the first and second areas results in a interleaving of the arrays of tapered protrusions or tapered grooves. The first area is reversibly adhered to the second area. The step of providing the first area involves applying a first adhesive element to the first area such that the protrusions of the first adhesive element extend away from and are orthogonal to the first area of the substrate, and the step of providing the second area involves applying a second adhesive element to the second area such that the protrusions or grooves of the second adhesive element extend away from and are orthogonal to the second area of the substrate. The method further involves providing at least one liquid present between the first and second arrays. The method (M1) further involves repeating the disposing, the contacting, and the removing to prepare additional adhesive elements; dicing the adhesive element to provide at least a first adhesive element and a second adhesive element. The step of contacting the first adhesive element with the second adhesive element results in a interleaving of the arrays to provide a reversible adhesive interaction of about 1 to about 100 N/cm2 between the first and second adhesive elements. The step of contacting the first adhesive element with the second adhesive element results in a interleaving of the arrays to provide an irreversible adhesive interaction between the first and second adhesive elements. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.