If Nothing Sticks to Teflon, How Do They Get Teflon to Stick to the Pan?

“They,” of course, is Du Pont, which owns the registered trademark
for Teflon and its younger and now more popular cousin, Silverstone.
G. A. Quinn, of Du Pont, told Imponderables that the application
of both is similar:
When applying Silverstone to a metal frypan, the interior of the
pan is first grit-blasted, then a primer coat is sprayed on and
baked. A second layer of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is applied,
baked and dried again. A third coat of PFTE is applied,
baked and dried.
About the only thing that sticks to PTFE is PTFE. So, the 3-
coat process used in Silverstone forms an inseparable bond
between the PTFE layers and the primer coat bonds to the rough,
grit-blasted metal surface.
Du Pont has recently introduced Silverstone Supra, also a threelayer
coating that is twice as durable as conventional Silverstone.

Why Do Dogs Walk Around in Circles Before Lying Down?

The most common and logical explanation for the phenomenon is
that in the wild, circling was a method of preparing a sleeping area
or bed, particularly when it was necessary to flatten down an area
among tall grass, leaves, and rocks.
Some experts also believe that circling is a way for dogs to map
territory, to define an area of power. Dog writer Elizabeth Crosby
Metz explains the habit this way:
I believe it also has to do with spreading their proprietary scent
around their nesting site, to say: “Keep away, this is MY nest!”
     In fact, as a breeder I know that mother dogs will circle many
times before lying down to feed their sightless, deaf newborns
as a way of spreading her scent and indicating to them exactly
where she is and how far they have to go to reach her. Think
about it: How else can blind, deaf newborns so surely find the
milk bar?

What Is the Purpose of the Warning Label on a Mattress? And What Happens If I Rip It Off?

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Here is an Imponderable that happens to be one of the foremost
moral issues plaguing our society today. Many transgressors are
consumed with guilt over having ripped off mattress tags. Some are
almost as upset about impetuously doing in pillow tags, as well.
We are here to say: do not be hard on yourself. You have done
nothing legally wrong. You have not even done anything morally
wrong.
Those warning labels are there to protect you, not to shackle you.
If you look carefully at the language of the dire warning, there is
always a proviso that the label is not to be removed “except by the
consumer.” Labeling laws are up to the individual states. Thirty-two
of the fifty states have laws requiring mattress tags, and none of the states cares whether the purchaser of a
mattress rips up the tag.
So how do these warning labels protect you? Most important,
they inform the consumer exactly what the filling material is made
of, because the fill is not visible. The label also notifies the consumer
that the manufacturer is registered with all of the appropriate government
agencies and has fulfilled its obligations in complying with
their regulations. There is also manufacturing information on the
tag that may help the consumer when and if a warranty adjustment
is desired (though this is a good argument for keeping the tag on
the mattress, or at least filing it for future reference).
One of the reasons why mattress warning label laws were imposed
in the first place is that some less-than-ethical merchants used to
palm off secondhand mattresses as new ones. It is legal, in most
states, to sell secondhand mattresses as long as they are properly
sterilized. A white tag guarantees a new mattress; a sterilized
secondhand mattress carries a yellow tag.
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