Glass : It Stretches !

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 111, 13 May 1939, Page 11

Glass : It Stretches !

PHILADELPHIA, April I—A new high-test laminated safety glass will go in 75 per cent of 1939 automobiles as yet unmade at no additional cost to manufacturers, it was announced here to-day as Franklin Institute bestowed jits accolade on the (latest gift of the laboratory to public safety. | “Rubber glass,” the new product, will stretch and may break, but it cannot shatter. Hailed as 1939’s outstanding contribution to highway safety, it was introduced formally to a I distinguished group of natural scientists and industrial leaders. A demonstration test showed the plate glass to be strong enough to stop a half-pound steel ball travelling at a velocity of 56 feet per second, yet flexible enough to be “rolled up like a rug,” after it was broken. [ The five companies which cooperated in the development of the new ( glass, and received the honours of the Institute last night, were: Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corp., E. L du Pont ' de Nemours and Co., Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co., Monsanto Chemical Co., and Pittsburgh Plato Glass Co. In a telegram read to the gathering, President Roosevelt joined- the Insti- , tute in praising the development. “It is especially fitting that we recognize every achievement in which the practical application of scientific principles adds to human happiness through | the promotion of traffic safety. Such an occasion is doubly significant because it is indicative of the great benefits to mankind -which result from a social-mindcdness on the part of industry. It seems to me especially appropriate that the meeting is being held at Franklin Institute which perpetuates ' the memory of a great American who ' devoted most of his life to the service of his country.”

Stewart McDonald, Federal Housing Administrator said that tho spirit of mutual co-operation which lcxl to the development of the new glass marked a milestone in the annals of American industry.

An unemployed actor finally landed a booking the other day and he says lie’s so happy he feels as though he’s walking on leather.