Interesting reading for history nerds

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HoneyLady

HoneyLady

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I came across this on the Web this morning. It is a document form 1943, from what we would call the Iowa A & M Extension Service. It's about the use of various oils in soap making -- the markets, economy, WW II uses, etc. Lots of interesting tidbits in here.

As a side note, take a look at the *lovely* graphs in the document. Those were all done BY HAND by a very talented draftsman with a FOUNTAIN PEN. No word processors here!

~HoneyLady~

lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=8&article=1026

(Hope I got the link right. If I fluffed it, I apologize! :( )
 
THANK you for cleaning up the link!! I knew I was fluffing that . . .:oops:

It is really interesting reading, tho. Lots of little gems tucked in there.

I was especially pleased to discover what it was that made that old heavy duty yellow soap actually yellow. It was rosin -- a first cousin to pine tar! And boy, did those yellow bars clean! I've had a request for them, and even though I remember them, I knew nothing else about them.

Also interesting to see the bits about fats before the War. (WW II) I have my grandmother's Good Housekeeping cookbook from 1943, with about 50 pages of supplements dealing with rationing, and coupons, and how to substitute this or that for something unavailable.

My Mom remembers my grandmother saving "grease" (drippings) from cooking, and straining them. She gave them back to the butcher, who collected from EVERYONE, and were used for the war effort. The glycerin was extracted for explosives. That's when synthetic detergents became so popular.

Just an interesting peek at history for us nerdy types. :mrgreen:

Thanks for helping me make it available here.
~HoneyLady~
 

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