6 ms·

The World’s Largest Speedo Collection Almost Oozed Away

42 points by GW150914 8y ago

goldenkey 8y ago
TLDR; polyurethane like most plastics, decomposes over time, with the decomposition speed catalyzed by higher humidity. Museum needed to build an environmental chamber to store these plastic-knit swimsuits in. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber
- Cthulhu_ 8y ago
  If you're making clothing / textiles for the ages, don't use plastics.
  - sincerely 8y ago
    Racing suits, especially the most high performance ones, are usually designed to perform well for about one or two swim meets before they start losing their effectiveness. Hardly longevity-focused design ;) Hell, I'm surprised that it took this long for the museum to run into issues with long-term storage.
cantrevealname 8y ago
> The Lycra in the suits contained ester-based polyurethane, a plastic that deteriorates when it comes in contact with water. This reminded me of the water soluble paper I bought at a magic shop. It looks just like ordinary paper--you can write notes on it and even use it in a printer--but it dissolves into a mush within seconds on contact with water. Presumably a spy or bookmaker could spit on or chew his notes to quickly destroy them if apprehended. I can't imagine any real use, but it's a cool gift for people who like gadgets and spy craft. An instantly dissolving swimsuit would make an even more amusing gift!
- robk 8y ago
  Bookies love this potato paper
- athenot 8y ago
  That's similar to toilet paper rolls I've seen in Europe. The core is made of pressed short fibers (similar to the TP itself), and can be discarded in the toilet as it turns into mush within seconds when in contact with water.
jpatokal 8y ago
Tangentially related: "The start of a relay race" picture was not taken at an indoor swimming pool, but the open-air Dawn Fraser Baths, which are really just a fenced-off section off the Parramatta River. This is Australia's oldest public swimming pool and it's still open today, essentially unchanged from what it was in the 1880s. https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balm...
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  Google cache for folks outside Australia: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_909JMVoJ:https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_90... (I was redirected to us.sydney.com, in the manner of https://xkcd.com/869/ https://xkcd.com/869/ )
Theodores 8y ago
Survivorship bias in swimsuits is not something I have thought of before, glad someone is doing something about it and I really mean that. I am sure that cycling kit also falls prey to the same lycra problems, this you can see if you look at the gear that a very well seasoned cycle tourist wears compared to a cyclist that has only recently started to get all the gear. On the more general topic of survivorship bias and historical artifacts, think of how much stuff was made of wicker for almost all of it to bio-degrade. If a society can weave wicker then that is all the home furnishings sorted, no fancy tools needed. Yet, nothing is left for the historical record. Previous civilisations could have had the comfiest chairs known to man yet the archaeologists could come along and, sitting in plastic chairs, assume the 'group of savages' never made it as far as the Stone Age.
- bena 8y ago
  There's another weird thing with creating with preservation in mind. I'm sure when Speedo made those suits, they weren't thinking about whether they'd keep for 40 or 50 years. The idea is that it would be like other clothes. You buy it, wear it until it becomes too threadbare or tears or some other normal thing, discard it, then buy another. That's why historical districts kind of fascinate me. The people who built that house, that pub, that shop, they weren't thinking "Geez, this will stand forever as a perfect representation of life right now", they were thinking "Well. I need a roof over my head". And they'd build extensions, re-purpose rooms, remodel, etc. All the normal things you do in a house. Then eventually, it becomes a historic landmark and it freezes in time. You can't tear it down, you can't alter it, you can't do much with it anymore. But these weren't concerns of the original builders. It's likely they did tear down something to put this up. It's all very weird to me. Especially since I do like checking out those kinds of places and I know that those preservation efforts are what allows us to have this view into the past. But it is odd.
  - 1996 8y ago
    Anyone can make a house or a bridge too sturdy. Only an engineer can make it "just sturdy enough" for its designated use, saving money.
russfink 8y ago
Can we use this idea to make enviro-degradable plastic bags that won’t clog up the oceans? (Maybe not cost effective, but could there be a cheaper compound out there?)
- userbinator 8y ago
  One of the main reasons to use plastic instead of paper is because of moisture resistance; and of course, plastic bags are used to store liquids too.
- herbst 8y ago
  This is kind of what most of the EU did recently. Not only do we pay for plastic bags now but they also bio degrade.
- mhb 8y ago
  Edible spoons: https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-bakeys/ https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-bakeys/
- yifanl 8y ago
  Is there any advantage to this over the bog standard paper bag?
- jonhendry18 8y ago
  The trick would be not creating plastic bags that degrade into tiny dispersed pieces of plastic that are still a problem.

42 points by GW150914 8y ago

TLDR; polyurethane like most plastics, decomposes over time, with the decomposition speed catalyzed by higher humidity. Museum needed to build an environmental chamber to store these plastic-knit swimsuits in. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber

Cthulhu_ 8y ago
If you're making clothing / textiles for the ages, don't use plastics.
- sincerely 8y ago
  Racing suits, especially the most high performance ones, are usually designed to perform well for about one or two swim meets before they start losing their effectiveness. Hardly longevity-focused design ;) Hell, I'm surprised that it took this long for the museum to run into issues with long-term storage.

cantrevealname 8y ago

> The Lycra in the suits contained ester-based polyurethane, a plastic that deteriorates when it comes in contact with water. This reminded me of the water soluble paper I bought at a magic shop. It looks just like ordinary paper--you can write notes on it and even use it in a printer--but it dissolves into a mush within seconds on contact with water. Presumably a spy or bookmaker could spit on or chew his notes to quickly destroy them if apprehended. I can't imagine any real use, but it's a cool gift for people who like gadgets and spy craft. An instantly dissolving swimsuit would make an even more amusing gift!

robk 8y ago
Bookies love this potato paper
athenot 8y ago
That's similar to toilet paper rolls I've seen in Europe. The core is made of pressed short fibers (similar to the TP itself), and can be discarded in the toilet as it turns into mush within seconds when in contact with water.

jpatokal 8y ago

Tangentially related: "The start of a relay race" picture was not taken at an indoor swimming pool, but the open-air Dawn Fraser Baths, which are really just a fenced-off section off the Parramatta River. This is Australia's oldest public swimming pool and it's still open today, essentially unchanged from what it was in the 1880s. https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balm...

bunderbunder 8y ago
Google cache for folks outside Australia: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_909JMVoJ:https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_90... (I was redirected to us.sydney.com, in the manner of https://xkcd.com/869/ https://xkcd.com/869/ )

Theodores 8y ago

Survivorship bias in swimsuits is not something I have thought of before, glad someone is doing something about it and I really mean that. I am sure that cycling kit also falls prey to the same lycra problems, this you can see if you look at the gear that a very well seasoned cycle tourist wears compared to a cyclist that has only recently started to get all the gear. On the more general topic of survivorship bias and historical artifacts, think of how much stuff was made of wicker for almost all of it to bio-degrade. If a society can weave wicker then that is all the home furnishings sorted, no fancy tools needed. Yet, nothing is left for the historical record. Previous civilisations could have had the comfiest chairs known to man yet the archaeologists could come along and, sitting in plastic chairs, assume the 'group of savages' never made it as far as the Stone Age.

bena 8y ago
There's another weird thing with creating with preservation in mind. I'm sure when Speedo made those suits, they weren't thinking about whether they'd keep for 40 or 50 years. The idea is that it would be like other clothes. You buy it, wear it until it becomes too threadbare or tears or some other normal thing, discard it, then buy another. That's why historical districts kind of fascinate me. The people who built that house, that pub, that shop, they weren't thinking "Geez, this will stand forever as a perfect representation of life right now", they were thinking "Well. I need a roof over my head". And they'd build extensions, re-purpose rooms, remodel, etc. All the normal things you do in a house. Then eventually, it becomes a historic landmark and it freezes in time. You can't tear it down, you can't alter it, you can't do much with it anymore. But these weren't concerns of the original builders. It's likely they did tear down something to put this up. It's all very weird to me. Especially since I do like checking out those kinds of places and I know that those preservation efforts are what allows us to have this view into the past. But it is odd.
- 1996 8y ago
  Anyone can make a house or a bridge too sturdy. Only an engineer can make it "just sturdy enough" for its designated use, saving money.

russfink 8y ago

Can we use this idea to make enviro-degradable plastic bags that won’t clog up the oceans? (Maybe not cost effective, but could there be a cheaper compound out there?)

userbinator 8y ago
One of the main reasons to use plastic instead of paper is because of moisture resistance; and of course, plastic bags are used to store liquids too.
herbst 8y ago
This is kind of what most of the EU did recently. Not only do we pay for plastic bags now but they also bio degrade.
mhb 8y ago
Edible spoons: https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-bakeys/ https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-bakeys/
yifanl 8y ago
Is there any advantage to this over the bog standard paper bag?
jonhendry18 8y ago
The trick would be not creating plastic bags that degrade into tiny dispersed pieces of plastic that are still a problem.