World's Fair urban legend (I hope...)

[matrioshka]

The other thread inspired me to ask this.

Years ago, a friend told me a story about the World's Fair. Supposedly, someone created a method of dry-cleaning your suit while wearing it. Said method involved walking into a swimming pool filled with dry cleaning solvent and walking out the other side squeaky clean. According to him, they stopped beacuse several people died.

I know people liked to roll the dice with the reaper back then, but bathing in carbon tetrachloride?

I never could pin him down on details, it was either Chicago or NYC, in the late 30's. It just has to be urban legend...

M

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have guidebooks for the 1933 and 1934 Chicago fairs and the 1939 and 1940 New York fairs, and there's no such exhibit listed in any of them. The American Laundry Machinery Company had an exhibit in Chicago, but it was a static display of dry cleaning equipment with no swimming pool anywhere nearby. The only way you could get taken to the cleaners at the New York fair was to spend too much time in the Amusement Zone. There was a pool at the New York Fair -- the Lagoon of Nations -- but you didn't get into that unless you were an Aquabelle.

 

[Dinerman]

[video=youtube;WbkfkcSiYcI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbkfkcSiYcI[/video]

 

[matrioshka]

Lizzie,

That confirms my suspicions.

 

[Yeps]

Fun video. Running film backwards is a surprisingly easy way to get boggling results.

 

[Stanley Doble]

It sounds like one of Bruce McCall's exhibits from the Cairo World's Fair of 1936. Here is a funny speech by Bruce about his work. With illustrations.

http://www.ted.com/talks/bruce_mccall_s_faux_nostalgia.html

 

[MPicciotto]

Long before death an irritation from having all the oils in your skin sapped out by the degreasing qualities of Carbon Tet would render the experience uncomfortable enough that the whole premise would fail.

Matt

 

[Undertow]

I recall a news report showing a "Walk-Through Dry Cleaning" in Japan, probably sometime in early 2000's. Yet, I can't find any info on it. And the more I read about this, the more I'm convinced it was some kind of April Fool's joke. Who knows? [huh]

 

[Renault]

Carbon Tet was called "High Life" by farmer's & ranchers and one of it's many uses was to get a balky mule to get up and move! IT BURNS when placed on tender areas of hair or fur covered skin! Like "turpentining" a cat or dog. Cruel as all he**, but unfortunately it was done.....

I remember a story dad often told of a sow that had a whole mess of shoats under their farm house. Grandma didn't want them under there knocking the house off it's piers. So one day she could see the sow laying on the ground thru the cracks in the floor slats. She poured a whole bottle on the sow. Needless to say the ensuing melee almost acomplished the unwanted result......

R