The Age Of Ingenuity

In mid-1936 Reader’s Digest featured some wondrous inventions with the potential to revolutionize all our lives. What happened?

Hose-off fabrics

All types of textiles are rendered permanently water-repellent with a compound developed by Imperial Chemical Industries, England. Demonstrating the process, two girls in light summer frocks stood beneath a drenching showerbath, then stepped out, gave their frocks a twitch to dislodge lingering drops of water, and walked off perfectly dry. They spilled glasses of water and cups of tea on their clothes, upset drinks on sofas and tablecloths, and the liquids rolled off, leaving no mark. The effectiveness of Velan is not destroyed by laundering or cleaning.

Editor’s update: According to a 1950 patent application, Velan had a small drawback in practice: “… by its application the fibre is weakened in some unexplained manner; which weakness is very likely due to a considerable reduction in the elasticity of elongation, with the result, that the fibre becomes brittle.” In other words, your Velan dress would likely stay dry, but, sadly, it would also snap off when sat on.

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