 How is Hilary's product going to kill the razor industry?
"It has the purpose," I told her, "of teaching the members something about commerce and industry. They manufacture simple compositions like polishing waxes and sell them from door-to-door. Some groups have built up tidy little bank accounts which are available for later educational expenses." Marjorie put back her head and laughed, and I was forced to join her, for we both recognize that my understanding and "feel" for commercial matters—if I may use that expression—is almost nonexistent. Mr. McCormack is going to put up fifty dollars to buy any raw materials wanted When Ridgeville moved to its present site, so, of course, did we, which meant starting mortgage payments all over again. You're going to decide what to do, and if it's safe and legal and possible to do with the starting capital we have, I'll go along with it and help in any way I can. The usual products, of course, with these junior achievement efforts, are chemical specialties that can be made safely and that people will buy and use without misgivings—solvent to free up rusty bolts, cleaner to remove road tar, mechanic's hand soap—that sort of thing. "You should be able to make ball bearings by molding, then densify them by electroplating." "And all we'd need is a hydraulic press," I told him, "which, on a guess, might cost ten thousand dollars. "Well, now," I said, "organic synthesis sounds like another operation calling for capital investment. "Some," said Hilary, "and I've got a home laboratory." Healthy mice of the right strain," I explained to Tommy, "might be sold to laboratories. "Well, now," I admitted, "the market for red mice might be rather limited. Denatured alcohol, glycerine, water, a little color and perfume. He thought there should be two colors in the same bottle—orange for morning and blue for night, the blue ones designed to leave the mouth alkaline at bed time. Hilary, reluctantly forsaking his ideas on detergents, suggested we make black plastic discs, like poker chips but thinner and as cheap as possible, to scatter on a snowy sidewalk where they would pick up extra heat from the sun and melt the snow more rapidly. These latter ideas had made unknowing use of some basic physics, and I'm afraid I relapsed for a few minutes into the role of teacher and told them a little bit about the laws of radiation and absorption of heat.
 Before-shave breaks off whiskers, just apply and wipe away.
 Before-shave breaks off whiskers, just apply and wipe away.  Before-shave dissolves whiskers permanently.  Before-shave dissolves whiskers for four to six weeks at a time.  Before-shave will never kill the razor industry. That's just wishful thinking.