New Uses for Old Products
Duck Tape Commercial
We once used duct tape strictly for keeping ammunition cases dry. These days the sky's the limit
when it comes to uses for the silver-sided tape.
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Many inventions begin their lives in the service of their country, and duct tape is no exception.
Military officials tasked researchers at the Permacel division of Johnson & Johnson with
developing a tape that would keep ammunition cases dry during World War II. Their solution: a
three-ply tape that sandwiched a fabric mesh between a layer of polyethylene on top and a
rubber-based adhesive on the bottom. It was exceedingly strong and waterproof, inspiring
admirers to call it "duck" tape. It even had the color of ducks -- a drab olive-brown.
After the war, soldiers returned to a booming housing market, and many took jobs on building
sites. Recalling the really strong tape from their military days, they recommended it to heating,
ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) contractors, who needed a reliable adhesive to hold
heating and air conditioning ductwork together. Soon, manufacturers started making the tape
with a silver-colored polyethylene top so it matched the aluminum ducts.
Today, the usefulness of duct tape extends far beyond the basement. People use it to make
everything from handbags and wallets to raincoats and shoes. And, of course, where would
impromptu car repairs be without the ubiquitous silver-sided tape to hold sagging mufflers, cover
broken windows and hide rusted rocker panels.
Thanks to its slipperiness, Teflon's second use almost eluded us.
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Say the word "Teflon," and you immediately think of nonstick cookware -- those slick, black
pans you might use to make perfect pancakes. But that's not the first use of the famous chemical.
After Roy J. Plunkett discovered the slippery, inert polymer in 1938, the company he worked for,
DuPont, wondered what to do with it. First, the company trademarked its innovation as Teflon in
1945. Then it went in search of a buyer and encountered the U.S. military. Defense officials
found Teflon useful in artillery shell fuses and in the production of nuclear material for the
Manhattan Project.
After the war, DuPont looked for ways to incorporate Teflon into a consumer product.
Developing nonstick cookware seemed like a good idea, but the very thing that made Teflon
unique -- its slipperiness -- thwarted chemists trying to adhere the chemical to pots and pans.
Finally, in 1954, French engineer Marc Gregoire figured out how to adhere Teflon to aluminum.
A year later, he launched the TEFAL (TEF from Teflon and AL from aluminum) Company and
began selling the world's first nonstick cookware. Today, DuPont offers its own line of nonstick
cookware products, including Teflon Platinum Plus, which holds up to metal utensils.
Rat poison found a second life as a therapy for blood clots, embolism and stroke.
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In the early 1920s, a mysterious disease caused a large number of cattle to spontaneously bleed
to death. Scientists discovered that the affected animals had eaten moldy hay made from sweet
clover. When the fungal cells attacked the clover stalks, they produced a powerful anticoagulant.
A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin eventually isolated the chemical, named it
dicoumarol and synthesized it in large quantities. Other chemicals in the same class -- all with
powerful anticoagulant properties -- soon followed. Warfarin was introduced in 1948 as a rat
poison, and it saw widespread use.
It didn't take long for doctors to realize that warfarin might be helpful in patients at risk of blood
clots, embolism and stroke. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug in
1954 for medical use in humans. Today, warfarin is the 11th most prescribed drug in the United
States, although its dosing requirements and side effects make it a challenging medicine to
dispense [source: Hall]. In October 2010, the FDA approved dabigatran as a replacement for
warfarin, which may put the longtime blood thinner back where it started -- in the bellies of rats.
No. 6: Temper Foam
Temper Foam has found a home in space and in bedrooms around the world.
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Ask any astronaut: When you're hurtling toward Earth in an oversized tin can, it's good to have a
cushion to help protect your body. The task of developing that cushion fell to a team of
aeronautical engineers led by Chiharu Kubokawa and Charles Yost. The scientists eventually
invented a pressure-absorbing material, known as visco-elastic polyurethane foam, that could
improve conditions for human survival in impacts generating up to 36 G's. Yost called the
material "Temper Foam," alluding to its heat-sensitive nature, and began his own company,
Dynamic Systems Inc. (DSI), to develop the material commercially. DSI used Temper Foam in a
variety of applications, from ejection seats and wheelchair cushions to ski boots and football
helmet liners.
Then, in the 1980s, NASA released its patented formula to the public domain. Many companies
tried to develop commercial applications using the viscoelastic polyurethane foam, but few were
successful. One company that did succeed was Fagerdala World Foams, a Swedish firm that
transformed Yost's Temper Foam into the Tempur-Pedic mattress in 1991. Within three years,
50,000 Swedes were going to bed each
Bag Balm -- for bovines and baldness!
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Cows the world over celebrated when John L. Norris introduced Bag Balm -- an ointment used
to soothe irritated udders -- in 1899. It proved so effective that farmers began using it to heal the
skin ailments of horses, pets and other domestic animals. A few used the salve -- a mixture of
petrolatum, lanolin and the antiseptic 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate -- on their chapped hands.
Over the years, Bag Balm became the duct tape of medicine. It continued to relieve tired teats
and painful paws, but it also pacified squeaky springs and lubricated everything from shell
casings to the chamois leather in cycling shorts. Then, a small study using Bag Balm to relieve
dry skin associated with male pattern baldness showed that some men began to regrow hair
where the salve was slathered. This eventually led to a new patent application for the century-old
formula. In 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declared that using Bag Balm
to treat baldness was patentable because it's a new use of a known composition.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/repurposed-inventions/10-new-uses-for-oldinventions.htm#page=7