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It took ten-hours to watch a merely near-two-hour video, as there were that many parts I wanted to replay!

 

I also looked up & did what research/reading on Dr.s Charles Norris and Alex Gettler...

 

Not to mention the one person helping document the documentary along, Debbie Blum, author of THE POISON'S HANDBOOK...

 

Glad that I got to watch this...

 

 

-- Dave
 
Really sad thing is

How long it took for Americans to accept forensic science as "fact" and catch up to Europe in many areas including homicide by poison.

Bumping off people by poison had long been common in Europe, going back to the Medici family and even before. As such doctors and others began to develop a body of science to detect poisoning post mortem, and later control access to such substances.

Anyone who watches enough PBS/British programming, in particular "Mystery" knows Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and other detectives along with Scotland Yard long had a poisoners number. If the corner's inquest didn't turn up something fishy, often later on someone got the scent and bodies were exhumed.

As the book and PBS program "the Poisoner's Handbook makes clear even late as the 1910's and into 1920's American law enforcement and judicial system often discounted science that proved poisoning, leaving all sorts of homicides gotten away with.

Mary Frances Creighton (mentioned in book and PBS show) is one who went a bit too far and finally got caught. She was only run to ground after killing her brother, in-laws, and several others.

http://murderpedia.org/female.C/c/creighton-mary-frances.htm

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/long-island-borgia-article-1.278373

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12244271

Large part of the problem is that unlike much of Europe, common poisons were largely unregulated. In England, France, Germany or wherever you could get say arsenic, cyanide, or whatever but by around 1800's or so the sale was recorded in a book kept by all local shops/chemists. So if you purchased say arsenic to deal with rats in your kitchen, or cyanide to kill pests in the rose garden, but later your husband or someone else turned up dead *and* the inquest showed death by poison, guess who LE looked at first?

OTHO such substances were largely unregulated in the USA and could be found in all sorts of over the counter products. Arsenic, lead, thallium, cocaine, morphine, etc...

Arsenic was everywhere because rodents were as well and people wanted to rid their homes/gardens/businesses of the varmints. Rough on Rats was a best selling rodenticide at the time. It also was highly popular for homicide and suicide.

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-NHSJ07_02-t1-g1-t8.html

http://beachpackagingdesign.com/boxvox/rough-on-rats
 
I remember many years ago asking my Mom what dry cleaning was. She wasn't real specific, and said that they used to use gasoline... she said that with that Mom expression that meant "And don't you dare ever try it either!". LOL.

Gasoline is so malodorous I find it hard to believe anybody would use it.

However in a former life (like in my 30's) I remember using stuff like spray Brake Cleaner (chlorinated hydrocarbons back then) to get rid of stubborn black grease stains on some clothing. Nowadays they've got rid of the chlorinated stuff and brake cleaner is mostly acetone. Which of course is flammable. Carb cleaner may still have chlorinated hydrocarbons but it general really stinks too.
 
Leaded gas and car engines

Actually lead did help car engine valves last longer. As I understand it, it acted as a sort of cushion for when the valves closed tightly on the valve seats. Some car engines had "hardened" valve seats that didn't need the lead cushion. Chrysler products, for example. Others, like Ford, used softer seats and could be damaged by lead-free gas. An engine rebuilder could simply replace the soft seats with hardened ones, but of course it's a big job to pull a motor just for that. In due course (probably in the 80's) I believe all mfg's switched over to hardened valve seats so the problem went away.

If motors last longer it's not because the gas no longer has lead. It's because they are made of more durable alloys, and more precise fuel and ignition systems that don't leave as much soot and such in the cylinders. And, also, engine oils have steadily improved over the decades.
 
Engines lasting longer

Yes, Lead did protect engines with softer exhaust valves, however, leaded Regular remained on the market for those engines until the presumed end of their life cycle.

 

However, the engines that used Unleaded fuel from the start do/did last longer because of the reduced ash and metal deposits.  Oil change intervals were extended because of the cleaner running engine, also as a by-product (actually the goal) cleaner air, reduced emissions. 

 

Removal of Lead was the proper thing to do.
 
White gas

When I used to go to Scout camp in the summer we used kerosene lanterns ad flashlights in the campsite at night. I remember walking past another troop's campsite one night and saw a lantern with a funny flame, like it was flaring much higher on one side than the other, unlike our kerosene lantern which had a flame that was of uniform height. Somebody said that they were burning white gas in the lantern which was not a good thing to do, because of the low flash point as discussed in this Wikipedia article:

 

"Generic lamp oil is available clear or in a choice of several colors and in scented and unscented forms. Although more expensive, lamp oil is highly refined and burns more cleanly and with less odor than kerosene. "Lamp oil" must not be liquid paraffin. "Water clear" K-1 kerosene is the next grade of preferred fuel for kerosene wick lamps. In some locations "red kerosene" is sold, which is dyed red and is slightly less expensive than K-1 kerosene, as no motor-fuel taxes are collected on it. Red kerosene is not recommended because the dye will gradually clog the lantern wick causing odor and reduced performance. "Klean-Heat" brand is another highly refined, cleaner-burning, nicer-smelling<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2012)">citation needed</span>]</sup> kerosene substitute sold at many hardware stores during winter. Citronella-scented lamp oil containing lemongrass oil is sold for its insect repellent properties. Citronella fuels should only be used outdoors. Liquid paraffin based "lamp oil" should only be used in round-wick lamps with a wick diameter of less than ⅝". Used in larger wicks, this fuel causes the wicks to clog.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (December 2015)">citation needed</span>]</sup>

Flat wick kerosene wick lamps should only be operated with kerosene, lamp oil or Klean-Heat, but alternative fuels can be used in an emergency. Such fuels may produce additional smoke and odor and may not be usable indoors. Tractor vaporizing oil is made from kerosene with some additive to make a motor fuel for tractors. No. 1 diesel fuel (also called winter diesel) is about the same as kerosene but with the additives to make it a motor fuel. Jet A jet-engine fuel is essentially kerosene with a few additives. RP-1 (Rocket Propellant-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel.

Round wick, center draft lamps, must only burn either Klean-Heat or low odor mineral spirits.

Any liquid with a low flash point presents a high risk of fire or explosion if used in a kerosene wick lamp. Such liquids are dangerous and should not be used in a kerosene lamp or lantern. Examples include:

<ul>
<li>Charcoal lighter fluid</li>
<li>Gasoline (petrol)</li>
<li>Naphtha, white gas or Coleman fuel</li>
<li>Mineral spirits, paint thinner, white spirit (Stoddard solvent)</li>
<li>Other hydrocarbon solvents such as turpentine, benzene, xylene, toluene, acetone, camphene, lacquer thinner</li>
<li>Denatured alcohol"</li>
</ul>
 

 
 
It

Looks like the first machine I worked with when I was in dry cleaning.
I'd guess at 1940s. It's not the same brand.. Ours was a "Prosperity"
These machines where called transfer units.. being that the operator transferred the garments into a reclaimer. (We didn't used gloves) Both reclaimer and cleaning machines where vented. Later came Dry to Dry units, also vented, then later sealed Dry to Dry...no vents..
Some of those of old machines didn't not have filter cartridge's. We use filter powder ( diatomaceous earth ) and or Darko.
Used solvent or filter cartridges where drained into a cooker where the solvent was cooked off (distilled) Talk about sink! Then the pure distilled solvent was caught and went back into a tank to be re used. The distilled solvent had to be "charged" in order to used in the main working tank.
What I remember about the old machine.. Like then one pictured, Was that it did a better job at cleaning silks.
 
I wonder about the well-dressed men in the beginning of this program cleaning that huge hotel--using that small vac and how that tiny feather duster got everything that spotless...

A lot of halls, rooms and other areas in that joint sure probably made staying there rather expensive and putting that many people in its staff must have made a huge payroll for all that help--cooks, maids, laundry, etc.

-- Dave
 
Sadly, I think most of the general public knew very little about the dangers of some of the products they were using as solvents back in the 50s and even much later.

Gasoline is absolutely not suitable as a solvent for cleaning - it's pretty nasty stuff and you should minimise your contact with it.

There wsre loads of highly dangerous practices, chemicals and appliances back in the "good old days".
Everything from solvent use to burning gas appliances that vented straight into rooms, smoking and all sorts of crazy cosmetics that would be banned now.

And that was before you looked at work place safety and environmental emissions from industry! Not to mention plenty of nuclear materials being fired into the atmosphere in the name of military testing by various countries.

Widespread use of coal in this part of the world too, little or no emissions standards for gasoline engines etc etc etc

We are much more aware and highly regulated about volatiles and solvents these days. The amount of times however, I hear people complaining about modern paints annoys me. Your woodwork might take a little longer to dry than in 1977, but it's a lot better than dealing with inhaling dangerous solvents!

Quick drying skirtings (baseboards) or cancer?! ...

I wonder will we see a peak and fall away in cancer rates as the generations exposed to that stuff dwindle and younger generations have had a much healthier environment.
 
Hi James,

I would disagree that people complaining about paint performance with the reduction of the VOC’s should just accept it. There still isn’t a replacement for Oil based enamel, that gives the same finish oil based paint did 10 years ago.

The oil based paint we’ve used in the last 5 years has gone all chalky within 3-4 years, but at least allows you to get a perfectly smooth finish with the full gloss. The Waterbased enamels dry that quickly, that unless you’re spraypainting, it is impossible to get a smooth finish without brush or roller marks. The closest finish we’ve been able to get to oil is with a scrub ale hospital grade water based enamel, but it costs $90 a Litre and still dries that fast that you have to be creative to keep it looking good when the light shines on the finished surface.

Taking the lead out of paint was good, but the product still needs to work when you reformulate it to be healthier.

Regards

Nathan
 
Benzene...

Actually gasoline contains a lot of benzene.

And yes, it's nasty stuff. And many chemicals with a "benzene ring" need to be treated with respect.

Flammable dry cleaning solvents were of course replaced with chlorinated hydrocarbons, like carbon tetrachloride, perc, etc. The problem there is that they tend to last forever, and when they get into the ground water they can contaminate wells for miles around. A lot of industries in the 30's to the 60's were not to careful about where they dumped used solvents. A lot of those places are now Superfund sites. Chlorinated hydrocarbons today are generally regarded as carcinogenic, as well as liver and kidney toxins. Not to mention that when they evaporate they can stay in the atmosphere for a long time and deplete the ozone layer.

They do make waterless cleaning of greasy grimy car parts a breeze, though.
 
Perc replacing hydrocarbons.

I know that a local dry cleaners in my area has gone back to using stoddard solvent because it is apparently better for the environment. Shores Cleaners in St Clair Shores I believe is the place. I was surprised when the man told me that, I was expecting perc.
 

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