New Gadgets Highlight Modern Home and Industry Innovations
A roundup of new devices includes a paint brush conditioner that softens brushes with vapor from a felt pad, an ice chest convertible to an electric refrigerator installed in an hour, a lum inated weather map using tiny lamps, an interoffice radio intercom with hidden receiver, Army fire fighting clothing with resin-lined materials, a drip proof faucet with replaceable washer, and asbestos blankets for jet engines. For more information, send a three cent stamp to Science Service for Gadget Bulletin 362.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Science Service
N St
N. W
Washington, D. C
Odd stinkhorn fungus attracts flies in spring woods
Flyblat Fungus Maytime notes that stinkhorn mushrooms appear with flowers in spring. The horn shaped fungus emits a rotten odor that attracts flies, which crawl on its slimy tip and may disperse its spores to new sites for the next generation.
Aluminum and other materials reshape future housing
The article notes a postwar shift toward aluminum steel plastics and light-weight concrete for homes as lumber scarcity grows. It describes all-aluminum Butler Built and Fuller circular designs, prefabricated Gunnison homes, and new minerals and processes enabling lighter durable buildings, with magnesium titanium vermiculite and diatomite expanding construction options.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gunnison Homes, Inc
Gunnison
United States
National Housing Agency
America
Science Service
New Braille Devices Aid the Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind Tech nical Research Department develops devices to help blind people work at home and in the field. Vernier scale braille rulers thermometers protractors interval timers and a circular slide rule aid measurement and daily tasks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
American Foundation For the Blind
Foundation
West 16Th St
New York City
Charles Ritter
Technical Research Department
The
Do It Yourself Garden Trellis and Watering Gauge Guide
A detailed home garden guide explains building a trellis frame with four corner posts and wire, plus a simple tin can gauge to measure soil moisture. It covers watering cadence, soil types, and practical tips to avoid shallow roots and overwatering, advocating thorough occasional watering over light frequent watering.
Germ-Killer Potential of Plant Leaves Revealed
Dr. Harve J. Carlson of Western Reserve University reports that plant leaves yield as much antibiotic extract as several quarts of penicillin cultures. From sage brush, mountain pasque, juniper, wild buttercup, and water leaf leaves he obtained substances that kill bacteria affecting animals and humans.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harve J. Carlson
Western Reserve University
Water garden plants may harm ponds by crowding fish
Leafy water weeds sold to pond owners can choke ponds and reduce usable food for ducks. Lotus white waterlily and spat terduck should not be planted. Some plants are questionable or useless while others provide real food for wild fowl such as smart weeds wild duck millet chufas widgeon grass wild celery wild rice bulrushes arrow leaf and spike rush.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Verne E. Davison
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Soil Conservation Service
Spartanburg
S. C
Davison
Journal of Wildlife Management
Science Service
Egg White That Clings To Shell Has Many Uses
Industrial demand turns millions of pounds of shell clinging white into adhesives sizing for paper and leather coatings. Each egg case leaves about 1 to 1.5 pounds of technical albumin in shells, removed by centrifuging. colder eggs yield more cling to the shell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Also Mentioned on This Page
Army
England
By Science Service
Butler Manufacturing Co
National Bureau of Standards
Kansas City
Reynolds Metal Co
Louisville
Greece
Joseph H. Kraus
Science Clubs of America
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