A Nutty Putty Affair

Silly Putty was introduced to the public in 1950. Initially, the substance was an attempt to create a synthetic rubber substitute during World War II. While working for General Electric in 1943, James Wright combined boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube to create a new rubbery substance, an intriguing “nutty putty.” As he began to play with it, his accidental discovery bounced higher than rubber, stretched to great distances, snapped with sharp tugs, and could pick up ink from any printed matter. 

Without a practical purpose, the putty was passed around among friends. In 1949, it eventually found its way into the hands of a toy store owner whose marketing consultant, Peter Hodgson, identified the putty potential and purchased the rights from General Electric to sell the stuff himself. Hodgson packaged it in small plastic eggs and named it Silly Putty. After being featured in a New Yorker article, sales surged to 250,000 in just three days. Since its introduction, more than 300 million Silly Putty eggs have been sold.

More silly details at THOUGHTCO. and how to make it yourself.

Sweet on Connie

Starting in 1943, the Lockheed Corporation began manufacturing the triple-tailed Constellation series. It was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pressurized cabin enabled commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel. TWA was a major airline client. The "Connie" wing was similar to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning in design, differing mostly in size. The triple tail design allowed the aircraft to fit into existing hangars. Several different models of the Constellation series were produced, although all featured the distinctive dolphin-shaped fuselage. The stretched L-1049 Super Constellation first flew in 1951. The C-69 Constellation transport was the first of many military variants. The C-69 was a key player during the Berlin and Biafran airlifts. Constellation production ended in 1958. In recent years, the few airworthy examples of the L-1049 have dwindled down to one in Australia.

The Memphis Belle

 

On this day in 1943, after completing twenty-five combat missions over Western Europe from its base at RAF Bassingbourne, Cambridgeshire, England, Memphis Belle, a U.S. Army Air Forces Boeing B-17F-10-BO Flying Fortress, was flown home by Captain Robert K. Morgan and Captain James A. Verinis. Memphis Belle was only the second B-17 to survive twenty-five missions and was subsequently withdrawn from combat and sent back to the United States for a publicity tour. It is one of only three B-17F models remaining in existence. After a complete restoration in 2018, the plane was put on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Note: The B-17’s name was a reference to Captain Morgan’s girlfriend, Miss Margaret Polk, who lived in Memphis, Tennessee. The artwork painted on the airplane’s nose was a “Petty Girl” based on the work of pin-up artist George Petty of Esquire magazine.