Plastics in the Service of the Home

Until recently, household implements were made only of metals, woods, and earthenware. Today, however, a new material competes with them: plastic, which literally means: a thing capable of being softened in its manufacture, with the possibility of shaping it into different forms.

Plastic comes in many varieties and carries many natural colors that will neither change nor spoil. It is much used today in making kitchen implements — tumblers, bowls, sugar bowls, salt cellars, and spice boxes.

Among its varieties is the one known as urea (UREA), from which kitchen implements are made, as well as ornamental articles, powder boxes, lamp bases, bathroom hooks, children's cabinets, and other household requisites both transparent and opaque. Among its merits is that it carries neither odor nor taste; and if used in making tables, it withstands the heat of tea kettles and teapots and is unaffected by stains of fruit juice or alcohols.

There is another variety called Formica (FORMICA), from which furniture is made in different shapes and sizes. It is cheap in price and light in weight, and it lasts long: it does not warp, does not split, and does not come apart. The producers of Formica plastic have gone so far as to make furniture from it that cannot be told apart from walnut, pine, and olive woods.

Among the plastics is the Bakelite variety (BAKELITE), which resists water and heat, as it resists all chemical substances.

Another is Warerite plastic (WARERITE), which imitates American mahogany woods.

Another is Melanine plastic (MELANINE), from which are made tumblers, bowls, and plates resembling china plates — indeed lighter in weight than they, and unbreakable.

Another is casein plastic (CASEIN), whose merits are that its colors are beautiful, lustrous, and easy to clean. From it are made the small, inexpensive articles such as wool-knitting needles, umbrella handles, ladies' handbags with their handles and clasps, and buttons of every kind.

Another is cellulose acetate plastic (CELLULOSE ACETATE). This variety has reached the very summit of progress; it is exceedingly difficult to tell apart from ivory, and from it are made hairbrushes, artificial teeth, combs, and mirror frames.

Another is nylon plastic, the newest of its varieties, occupying a prominent place in the family of plastics. From it are made stockings for ladies — indeed, light fabrics and garments without number.