Popular Science Monthly 



69 



Shall Personal Vanity Prove a 

 Handicap to the Government? 



BECAUSE Dame Fashion, in one 

 of her capricious moods, has de- 

 creed that platinum jewelry is the 

 fashionable thing to wear, that metal 

 has steadily advanced until to-day it 

 is worth five times as much as gold. 

 As a result all chemical laboratories 

 and institutions throughout the coun- 

 try are greatly handicapped by its 

 scarcity. For producing sulphuric 

 acid, which is an absolute necessity 

 in the production of high explosives, 

 platinum is essential. To relieve the 

 present condition the rt __,_ 

 American Chemical So- 

 ciety suggests that the 

 loyal public refrain from 

 purchasing platinum in 

 the form of jewelry and 

 discourage the use of the 

 metal for ornamental pur- 

 poses. This would be in 

 line with economy, also. 



opnng wind reel 



The Many-Sided Bathing Cap. Change 

 It to a Suit- Bag When You TraverHome 



THE convertible bathing-cap of a New 

 York merchant has many virtues. 

 Inflated, it serves as a waterwing or a 

 football. Deflated, it 

 becomes a wrapper 

 in which to carry 

 your bathing suit. 



The cap is 

 made from strips 

 of waterproof 

 material sewed 

 together to a foot- 

 ball's shape. It can 

 be folded in half 

 lengthwise by pushing 

 one end down into 

 the hollow of the other 

 end. When this is done it will 

 conform to the shape of the 

 head and it will be ready for 

 use as a cap. Straps are at- 

 tached to the side for securing 

 the cap under the chin. 



A circular bladder can be 

 placed inside this same piece of 

 goods and inflated to change it 

 into a ball for playing on the 

 beach. With a bladder of different shape 

 placed inside it, it can be used as a water- 

 wing with straps to fasten it around the body. 



This cap when opened out forms a bag for the 

 bathing suit. When inflated it is a rubber ball 



FASTENER TUBE OF FLAP 

 CLIP \ INNER BAG / 



This safety chain can 

 be used for securing a 

 wallet to a man's pocket 

 or to a lady's handbag 



The steel chain is 

 wound up on a spring- 

 revolved drum when 

 the wallet is pocketed 



At Last!— The Safety Chain for 

 Frustrating the Pickpocket 



FROM sad experience, many a man has 

 learned that placing his wallet in even 

 an inside pocket will not prevent it from 

 being stolen. But if 

 the wallet is attached 

 to the safety chain 

 invented by Law- 

 rence R. Delaney, 

 of Gage, Okla- 

 homa, a pick- 

 pocket could not 

 remove it with- 

 out taking the coat 

 along, too! 



A fine steel chain 

 connects the wallet 

 with the coat pocket. 

 When you pocket your wallet, 

 this chain is wound up on a 

 spring-revolved drum in a very 

 thin casing which is sewed to 

 the bottom of the pocket. The 

 chain, which has its free end 

 secured to your pocketbook, is 

 about a foot long, so that you 

 can draw it out conveniently. 

 When you return the wallet to 

 your pocket the chain winds up automati- 

 cally. Should a pickpocket attempt to rob 

 you, the tug on the chain would betray him. 



