thysonsacclaim
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Thought this was interesting...
My father grew up in the depression and his mother emigrated from Sweden to the United States (she actually traveled in a covered wagon from New York
to Iowa I am told). Anyway, as such my father was always the self-sufficient type who would make do with whatever he had at hand. Waste not, want not
type of person.
He was a self-trained chemist / gemologist / mechanic / botanist / gun smith /watch smith / bee keeper / hunter / gardener / and much more. One of the
books he gave me before he died is called "Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Processes and Trade Secrets." It was published in the early 1900's. My
copy is from 1947, but the original was published in 1907.
The book is essentially a guide to producing anything from paint to cough syrup to black powder to rat poison to dyes and soft drinks and many other
things. It was particularly popular in both world wars since supplies were low and prices were high. Many people reverted back to producing and using
as many things as they could from scratch.
SOME of the information is obviously dated. For example, on page 630 it has a remedy for sea-sickness:
"Menthol 0.1 part
Cocaine Hydrochloride 0.2 parts
Alcohol 60.0 parts
Syrup 30.0 parts
A dessertspoonful to be taken to be taken at intervals of half an hour."
However, if you can read past the things that are obviously dated, there is some useful information. The best part is that the book is out of
copyright and you can find an e-copy of it here.
You can find it on Amazon.
Enjoy!
[Edited on 11-7-2009 by thysonsacclaim]
Scientia est potentia
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JohnWW
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I have a print copy of the most recent edition of Henley's, which I bought from a local second-hand bookshop a few years ago. In fact, I was planning
to scan it to files, but that looks no longer necessary. I have also found that the Second Edition of 1914 is on www.archive.org, as a 111 Mb PDF file.
The URL: "Henley's Twentieth Century Book Of Formulas, Processes And Trade Secrets":
http://www.archive.org/details/henleystwentieth00hiscrich
or http://ia310939.us.archive.org/0/items/henleystwentieth00his... 111.03 Mb
It was originally published in the good old days, when one could buy any amount of cocaine and heroin/morphine and hashish over-the-counter at any
good drugstore, with no questions asked, and no ID requested, and no prescription. To Hell with the phoney "War/Whore On Drugs"!
It was also in the good old days days when Coca-Cola REALLY contained cocaine and REALLY refreshed oneself, as per the original 1886 formula; even the
cola nut extract in it has been replaced with other sources of caffeine like guarana. The present formula is much less effective. I wonder if anyone
here has any old unopened bottles of Coca-Cola made with cocaine in it.
[Edited on 11-7-09 by JohnWW]
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1281371269
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I had an interesting experience with a chemistry kit on ebay recently - I was bidding on it and asked for a list of equipment / chemicals (it was an
antique one) and got sent a list with 'cocaine hydrochloride' on it. I told the seller to dispose of it safely, which I vaguely regret doing...
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Vogelzang
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You can download the 1907 and 1914 editions from Google books, too. They're both about 28MB.
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hissingnoise
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Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW  | | In the good old days, when one could buy any amount of cocaine and heroin/morphine and hashish over-the-counter at any good drugstore, with no
questions asked, and no ID requested, and no prescription. |
And because they were legal their use wasn't problematical in the way it is now---the WoD seems to have skewed peoples perception of drugs to
such an extent that their perceived importance is out-of-step with their utility.
The WoD amounts to a loss of collective innocence and society will never be the same because of it. . .
IMO, It would be better for everyone if Harry Anslinger had never existed!
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setback
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| Quote: |
And because they were legal their use wasn't problematical in the way it is now---the WoD seems to have skewed peoples perception of drugs to such an
extent that their perceived importance is out-of-step with their utility. The WoD amounts to a loss of collective innocence and society will never be
the same because of it. . . IMO, It would be better for everyone if Harry Anslinger had never existed! |
The WoD is just completely insane. It's definitely done more harm than good. If for nothing else, just some basic psychology here: What do you think
happens when an authority figure (be it a parent, teacher, or government official) tells you "these things are forbidden, you cannot use them."
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Formatik
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I think that has some interesting info, but the formulas are not as useful now as they were back then. The book is a product of a time where
constrictions were minimal, and so availability of some of those materials is now greatly reduced. With the way books are written now, I do miss the
openness of the older books which treat their reader with less suspicion.
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Foss_Jeane
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| Quote: | | IMO, It would be better for everyone if Harry Anslinger had never existed! |
Actually Anslinger had very little to do with it. The whole WoD began along with that other insanity: Prohibition. It was the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 that started the WoD. That was the nose of the camel under the tent flap. After that, it just grew and grew. Unless
there are some drastic changes, I don't see that it will ever end. Too much profit for too many to see it reversed any time soon.
| Quote: | | With the way books are written now, I do miss the openness of the older books which treat their reader with less suspicion. |
You also have to consider that books like "Henley's..." come from a time when people weren't so lawsuit happy. If someone did something and messed it
up with destructive consequences, they blamed their own stupidity. These days, they go looking for someone to sue.
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hissingnoise
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Yes but he did play a large part in the later demonisation of marijuana and was a driving force in the "reefer madness" idiocy. . .
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watson.fawkes
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Please see my reply in a new thread in a more appropriate section.
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Vogelzang
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Check out these videos on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=reefer+madness&a...
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chemrox
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"To Hell with the phoney "War/Whore On Drugs"!" Hear, hear!
"When you let the dumbasses vote you end up with populism followed by autocracy and getting back is a bitch." Plato (sort of)
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