Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-02-11
1853 Home
Abounds in
PIustics
Venetian Blinds,
Furniture, Lamps,
New Accessories
BY Betty Miles


and housekeeping lighter, were
born right after the war.
The Civil War, that is.
Lynn Scott. director of the
Plaskon Home Arts Council, ex-
planned this and quite a bit more
about the fabulous material on
q recent trip to Washington.
It all began a few years after
the War Between the States
she said, when a shortage. of
elephants tusks, used for billiard
balls, developed. Some one of
fered a prize for a substitute for
ivory and printer, John Wesley
Huatt, of Albany, N. Y, devised
q method Of mixing cellulose
nitrate with camphor, producing
q hard, resilient material. He
called 1t celluloid.
Celluloid collars and similar
products followed. Then things
Quoted down until the turn Of
the century. with plastics really
coming into their own during
World War II.
For that was when scientists
learned plastics could do many
Of the things more familiar
materials could not.
"Plastics in various forms
proved their worth as insulation
against electricity, heat. cold and
noise" Mrs. Scott said. 'They
don't rust, for one thing. They
are easier to mold. lighter and
simpler to move. Recently q
manufacturer named Strong in
Birmingham. Mich, developed
full-size plastic reinforced
flberglass bathtub that weighs
only 20 pounds and can be
picked up with one hand.
We've become so accustomed
to plastics we don't actually
realize how dependent we ara
upon them" she added. "Honie-
makers, have no idea how many:
such items there are in their
homes.
500 Items
Actually, the average home
has about 500 separate plastic
items. When they're enumerating
them, most people don't think
Of shower curtains, photograph
records, electric light switches.
m dicine bottle caps, hair
brushes and similar objects so
familiar we forget they're plastic.
"And don't forget the tele-
phone-it's plastic, too"
The coming year, she predicts.
will see more plastic lamps and
lamp shades, Venetian blinds,
household appliances of all kinds
and accessories for the bathroom
and kitchen. Designers Paul Nc
Cobb and Raymond Loewy are
developing interesting kitchen
things, she said.
In the past, the public
failed to realize how widely
plastics are used because they
were in combination with woods.
More and more, however, they
are not being camouflaged but
used frankly. taking full adj
vantage of the clear. permanent
colors that can be achieved
today.
Mrs. Scott looks forward to
the day when plastics will be
labeled as to their care and wear
ability. as many fabrics are. For,
years, she said, the Society Of
the Plastics Industry has waged
an educational campaign to see
that manufacturers use the right
kind Of plastic in the various
items they produce. This is the
heart of the matter, and the
source Of customer complaints
when violated.
Right after the war" Mrs.
Scott said, "well-meaning but
poorly informed molders made
mistakes in the use of certain
materials, They made, for ex-
ample, dishes of plastics that
were never meant for that pur-
pose, with the result that when
put in hot water, they emerged
looking like king-size noodles.
Now dinnerware is being made
Of melamine, which is both dura-
BILE and colorful." &
How to HondIe
If the customer has any doubt
about the disability of a plastic
product. Mrs. Scott suggested,
she should explain to thek sales
clerk exactly what she expects
in the way Of performance.
AS a general precaution: Don't
subject plastic items to con-
ditions Of heat or COLOR other
conditionS-your common sense
tells you are not practical.
An inexpensive plastic toy, for
example, or pepper and salt
shakers. cold water glasses and
similar things should never be
put into an oven to dry or into
boiling water. Melamine table
ware, on the other hand, is safe
in hot water, and today's plas-
tic buttons can take strenuous
treatment from cleaners without
damage.
There are Is different kinds
Of plastics. some Of which are
liquids (paint, varnish, RESIN,
some are films, such as you
would find in q raincoat or
shower curtain; some which are
called pliables. found in bottles
for cosmetics and other liquids;
and solids. Moreover. just to
complicate matters. some liquids
are found in one Of the is diff
ferent categories, some In others.
and that goes for films, pliables,
and solids, too.
All told. ''it win be q colorful
life" in the future, Mrs. Scott