New York World’s Fair

Interest in reduced-acid citrus juices originated in the early 1960 s when Kilbum and Drager (4) employed electodialysis tc remove citrate ions from juice. The Florida Department of Citrus tested the reduced-acid concept with consumers at the New York World s Fair in 1965, and followed this test with a national consumer survey in 1972. The Coca-Cola Company Foods Division... 

The leaders of DuPont—two brothers, a brother-in-law, a nephew, and a cousin—at the New York World s Fair of 1939. They are previewing the company s Wonder World of Chemistry pavilion, where nylon was first introduced to the public. From left, Irenee du Pont, vice chairman of the board Henry B. du Pont, later a company vice president Ruly Carpenter William du Pont Jr., director and Lammot du Pont, president. (Courtesy of the New York World s Fair 1939-1940 records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.)... 

In the absence of foaming, we can produce a material hard enough for roller blade wheels or soft and pliable enough to mimic leather. In fact, at the New York World s Fair of 1964, DuPont proudly introduced shoes made of Corfam, a polyurethane-based synthetic leather. The shoes were durable and waterproof, and they could be cleaned with a moist cloth. Best of all, Corfam was porous, so the shoes breathed like leather. Within a year, seventy-five million pairs of Corfam shoes had been sold, and the leather industry stopped breathing. But the Corfam fad didn t last. Despite the material s porosity, many complained of hot, sweaty feet, and furthermore, women didn t like the idea of shoes that lasted forever — they wanted new styles every year. So, Corfam became DuPont s Edsel. 

When the boss came back, they told him, and nylon was developed—over a period of 10 years—into a silk-like material. Advertised at the 1939 New York World s Fair as synthetic silk made from coal, air, and water, its application in hosiery for women was demonstrated by a model in a giant test tube. The material was an instant success. Reportedly four million pairs of nylon stockings sold in a few hours in the first New York City sale, but almost immediately sales were restricted and the material commandeered for parachutes. William Carothers did not live to see the success. He died by his own hand in a Philadelphia hotel in 1937. 

Audio-animatronics (Walt Disney) Disney established WED, a research and development unit that developed the inventions he needed for his various enterprises. WED produced the audio-animatronic robotic figures that populated Disneyland, the 1964-1965 New York World s Fair, films, and other attractions. Audio-animatronics enabled robotic characters to speak or sing as well as move. 

A large consumer sensory test conducted at the 1965 World s Fair in New York (16) involving several different orange juices of varying quality attributes, including color, showed that color was one of the most influential factors in juice preference. 

A great neighborhood for cheap restaurants, Flushing was transformed from the city s largest commercial trash heap to the site of the 1939 World s Fair. Relics from the fair are still visible in the neighborhood, as is the hulky mass of Shea Stadium, the baseball diamond of the New York Mets. 

Nylon, not publicly announced until 1938, was first used for bristles on combs, but made headlines in 1939 when nylon stockings debuted at the World s Fair in New York City. Nylon is known by its chemical name, poly(hexamethylene) adipamide, but more often simply as nylon. The first nylon manufecturing plant went into production at Seaford, Delaware, in 1940. Commercial production of nylon 6 by IG Earben in Germany began in 1941. These two plants would go on to produce millions of pounds of nylon annually. This mass production was essential to the World War II effort, as nylon was used for everything from belts, ropes, and straps to tents and parachutes. 

On October 27, 1938, at the site of the 1939 World s Fair in New York City, DuPont formally announced production of the first totally synthetic fiber. The factory, located in Seaford, Del., started producing stockings in late 1939. The new fiber was employed in sewing thread, fishing line, parachute fiber, and (especially) hosiery. During the first year of production some 64 million pairs of nylon stockings were sold. However, when the United States entered World War II in 1941, nylon became a stra-... 

Several other common thermoplastics emerged about the same time as LDPE in 1930s. Polystyrene, for instance, was first produced in 1930 and by 1934 plants were in operation producing the commercial resin in both Germany and Ihe United States. Poly(methyhnethacrylate) (PMMA) was developed by ICI about the same period. Carothers s discovery of nylons (introduced in 1939 at the World s Fair in New York) yielded a material that particularly served the allied war effort. Nylon was used extensively in tire reinforcement, parachute fabric, as well as in everyday products such as toothbrushes and women s stockings. Engineering thermoplastics such as polycarbonate by comparison are a more recent development, with commercialization by General Electric Company around 1958. 

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