Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
synthetic and natural wool, breaking them down into percentages of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Words like 'protein',
'coagulate', 'formaldehyde', 'bacterial enzyme', 'nitrocellulose', 'chem-
ical bonds', and 'polyamides' were used throughout the text, usually
without further definition, as if assuming that readers would find them as
familiar as the associated references to milk production and sheep
farming.
By April, with the exhibit almost fully booked, Science Service was
turning down requests. “We appreciate your interest in the Science Ser-
vice exhibit on 'Fabrics of the Future'. I regret that there has been such a
great demand for this throughout the country by the newspapers […] that
it is not possible at the present time to arrange for its use by colleges,”
Potter wrote to a chemistry student in New York who had read about the
exhibit in
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
.
64
That spring, the ex-
hibit traveled to major cities in Indiana, Ohio, and New York. During
May, it was in the windows of the Joseph Horne Company in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, sponsored by the
Pittsburgh Press
. In June and July, the
San Francisco News
,
San Diego Sun
, and
Berkeley Gazette
sponsored
California appearances, and other newspapers and stores in New Mexico,
Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Michigan scheduled
the project. Public reaction remained enthusiastic. In Buffalo, New York,
“It didn't matter whether it was day or night, there were people examin-
ing the exhibit and all expressed amazement at it.”
65
Sponsored by the
Boston Transcript
, the exhibit went on display at
the Jordan Marsh department store during the week of September 11,
1939, coordinated with the annual American Chemical Society confer-
ence. Davis asked chemist H.E. Howe to appear on the 'Adventures in
Science' broadcast directly from the Boston meeting. In his introduction,
Davis extolled the wonders of synthetic fibers, emphasizing (in the con-
text of world events) that such fibers could step “into jobs previously
performed by silk” from Japan, make use of products like milk casein
that might otherwise go to waste, and help create new production jobs.
64
R.D. Potter to Sherman Finneran, April 1, 1939; SIA RU7091, Box 208, Folder 6.
65
'Information Memorandum on Progress of Science Service', June 10, 1939; SIA
RU7091, Box 4, Folder 8, p. 6.
