1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. After this week's episode on Charles Goodyear and 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: the invention of vulcanized rubber, we're re airing an episode 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: on the history of something that was dramatically impacted by 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: that breakthrough, and that's the raincoat. This originally came out 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:23,920 Speaker 1: January twenty third, twenty twenty three. Enjoy Welcome to Stuff 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, 7 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm 8 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson. So, Tracy, I'm sure you have heard 9 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: of a jacket being called a Macintosh Uh huh, and 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: these days lots of jackets are called that. It became 11 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: kind of a generic always correctly, it really means a raincoat, 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: and if you want to get granular, it means a 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: specific kind and brand of raincoat. And that's because it's 14 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: actually named for the man who is usually credited with 15 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: inventing the modern raincoat, and that was Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh. 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: But as with just about any invention, it is not 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: as though he came up with the idea out of 18 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: thin air. Humans have worked on ways to make garments 19 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: water resistant almost since they started wearing them. Whale intestines, 20 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: woven grass and leaves, animal firs, tightly woven woolf fibers, 21 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: and even oiled and waxed fabrics have been used around 22 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: the world by various peoples to try to keep the 23 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: rain and moisture at bay. But figuring out how to 24 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: manufacture clothes with rubber was a really big breakthrough that 25 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: took actually kind of centuries. People really wanted to figure 26 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: out the rubber puzzle. I really love looking at pictures 27 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: of the various kinds of rainwear that different cultures have 28 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: developed around the world. Some of them are just so 29 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: fascinating to me. In terms of what we're talking about today. 30 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: There are accounts that indicate that indigitious peoples in the 31 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: Americas used the natural rubber from trees in a lot 32 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: of different ways and were applying rubber to their clothing 33 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: as a waterproofing tool well before Europeans arrived in the Americas. 34 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: Then Europeans, particularly Spanish and Portuguese explorers, adopted this same practice. 35 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: It was not something that they brought back home with 36 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: them to Europe. Though, rubber did not really become something 37 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: that Europeans paid a lot of attention to until the 38 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: mid eighteenth century, when French botanist Francois Fresnou de la 39 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: Gatorier started writing about it after spending time studying the 40 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: plants in French Guiana for a note. Actually wrote about 41 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,119 Speaker 1: the possibility of combining rubber with textiles to create waterproof 42 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: clothing as early as seventeen forty nine. But though Freno 43 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: and other Europeans who had visited the Americas had seen 44 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: this application and had even used it themselves, you would think, 45 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: of course they would want to bring that back to Europe, 46 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: But the problem was transport. Although the scientific community of 47 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: Europe was really eager to experiment with cowed schuk as 48 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: it was known in Frenot's writing and often for a 49 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: long time, it couldn't really be stabilized for transport, and 50 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: so reportedly that raw material would coagulate on the voyage 51 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic. For Reneau thought that rubber could be 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: combined with turpentine as a solvent, but that actually caused 53 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: it to break down, and it introduced oxygen into the mix, 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: and it just further degraded it. So enter a repeat 55 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: character from the podcast, that is Jacques de Vocsal of 56 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: the pooping robot Duck Automats of fame. He was really 57 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: fascinated with rubber, and he's often credited with creating the 58 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: first rubber tube, which he used in that duck. He 59 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: was one of the more prominent scientists of the seventeen 60 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: hundreds who was talking to colleagues about the potential of 61 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: using rubber in a variety of applications. That certainly increased 62 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: its profile as a subject of interest. He also communicated 63 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: the importance of this line of scientific research in the 64 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: early seventeen sixties. He did that when talking to aure 65 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: Leonard Jean Baptiste Bertin, who at the time was King 66 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: Louis the fifteenth of France's finance minister. Yeah, he was like, 67 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: we should really put some money behind this research, shouldn't we. 68 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: It's very cool. But it took several more years for 69 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: the next link in the chain, meaning another scientist, to 70 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: propose another solvent that would make rubber into a substance 71 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,119 Speaker 1: that could be used for a wide range of practical applications. 72 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: That was the work of French chemist Pierre Joseph Macaire. 73 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: Despite being very busy in the seventeen sixties, writing the 74 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: historically significant Dictionary of Chemistry. He also wanted to crack 75 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: the problem of a solvent for rubber, and he proposed 76 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: ether as another solvent option, and presented his work to 77 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: the Academy Descience in seventeen sixty eight, but ether was 78 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: far too expensive to really ever do anything at a 79 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: large scale. In seventeen seventy nine, an Italian botanist and 80 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: chemist named Giovanni Valentino Mattia Fabroni of Florence picked up 81 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: this effort. As a young scientist, Fabroni had traveled to 82 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: Paris and London at the behest of Tuscany nobility, and 83 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: had collected instruments for a new laboratory. That laboratory evolved 84 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: into the Science Museum of Florence. During these trips, Fabroni 85 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 1: of course met other scientists, and it's believed that that's 86 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: when he became interested in rubber. It was a few 87 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: years after that initial supply run that Fabroni was back 88 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: in London, and through experimentation he identified petroleum distillate or naphtha, 89 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: as a solvent for rubber. Fabroni did see some textile 90 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: applications for this and prepared some samples of fabrics that 91 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: were coated with rubber. He published his findings in France 92 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: and Italy in the seventeen nineties, with the most detailed 93 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: write ups about it appearing in Italy in seventeen ninety six. 94 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: So here it is. This is the first rainwear. No, 95 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: actually not. Petroleum distolate was difficult to produce in large quantities. 96 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 1: The next step was scientists figuring out how to actually 97 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: make these discoveries viable for more than just these little 98 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: one off samples. Yeah, and these were like not as 99 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: though he was even making clothes with the samples. It 100 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: was like, here is your sample of an eight by 101 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: eight inch p here's a fabric, fabric, Yes, it's a swatch. 102 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: At that point, other scientists continued to work on how 103 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: to make rubber work practically. But before garments, there was 104 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: another use for rubber coated fabric, and that was balloons. 105 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: But here's the thing, we actually don't know a whole 106 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,280 Speaker 1: lot about this use. It does brush up against two 107 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: previous episodes, though, and what we have is correspondence between 108 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: Faujeu de Saint Fond, one of the people who wrote 109 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: about the Mongolfier brothers and their early ballooning efforts, and 110 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: another pair of brothers the Robts. That correspondence is kind 111 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: of on the bickery side. It seems that each side 112 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: of the communication believed that they had had the idea 113 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:25,119 Speaker 1: to try waterproofing balloon fabric first, And there are also 114 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: some references years later to something called Blanchard's solution, again 115 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: referencing Sophie Blanchard. That would suggest that that was a 116 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: rubber and turpentine solution that she used on her balloon, 117 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: but there aren't really any specifics about where that solution 118 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: came from, if it had been used successfully, etc. Across 119 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean, Spanish scientists working in Mexico were also 120 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: working on rubber. At the end of the eighteenth century. 121 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: Diaz de la Vega had been one of several men 122 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: who had traveled to the Americas to learn more about 123 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: a plant known as castilloa elastica after other Europeans had 124 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: returned home excited about it. In this case, the effort 125 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: was funded by the Spanish colonial government, and de la 126 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: Vega was an employee of that government. He created not 127 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: clothing but containers. He did that by layering textiles with 128 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: natural latex and then shaping the layered result into something 129 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: that could hold mercury. We don't really have specifics on 130 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: the dimensions or the shape of those containers, but it 131 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: seems like the whole project kind of faded off. It 132 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: was not really pursued later. I would love to see those. 133 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: But then in the late seventeen hundreds and early eighteen hundreds, 134 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: a British surgeon named James Howison, living in Asia did 135 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: start applying rubber to clothing to make waterproof gear, and 136 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: he wrote about all of this in a paper titled 137 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: Some Account of the Elastic Gum Vine of Prince Wales's 138 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: Island and of Experiments made on the milky juice which 139 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 1: its with respecting the useful purposes to which it may 140 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: be applied. The Prince Wales's Island in the title is 141 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: the Malaysian island of Penang, and Howison is credited with 142 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: identifying a rubber producing plant called Ursiola elastica, and in 143 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: his paper, Howison stated that older vines of that plant 144 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: produced the best couch shook and described it as being 145 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: similar to a thick cream. He also described making wax 146 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: molds of items like gloves and boots and then dipping 147 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: them into his rubber solution to make completely rubber items 148 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: and using a ruler to spread liquefied rubber onto clothing, 149 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: making himself an entire set of waterproof clothes. The next 150 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: person in Europe to work on waterproofing with rubber was 151 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: really young when he figured some advances out. He was 152 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: just eighteen. His name was James Sime and he was 153 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: a medical student in Scotland. His story is interesting because 154 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: it butts right up against that of Charles Macintosh, who's 155 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: credited with inventing the raincoat. An eighteen eighteen, Sime wrote 156 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: up his findings that mineral naptha was the best thing 157 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: to thin rubber into a usable liquid form, and like 158 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: those before him, he worked on waterproofing clothes by spreading 159 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: this liquid rubber on them. Other scientists were working with 160 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: rubber and writing about the various qualities they observed in it. 161 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 1: During all of this. Dutch physiologist Jan Ingenhaus wrote about 162 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: rubber stickiness in seventeen seventy nine, writing quote, this wonderful 163 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: substance possesses a strong power of attraction for itself, so 164 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 1: that two pieces cut with a sharp instrument will adhere 165 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: strongly together if joined before the cut, and smooth edges 166 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: have been touched by the fingers. A French scientist named 167 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: Grossar built on that stickiness idea in his work, developing 168 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: a method of joining rubber together for his work on 169 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: rubber tubing, and building on that was Thomas Hancock, who 170 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: developed a device called a masticator in the early eighteen 171 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: hundreds that processed rubber to a desired viscosity for use 172 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: in a variety of applications, including the types of hoses 173 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: that Grossar had developed. Hancock's masticator was a cylinder with 174 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: spikes that rotated, and rubber material was passed through one 175 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: end and was warmed and cut by the spikes over 176 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,959 Speaker 1: and over before being extruded from the other end, as 177 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: what was called by one writer quote a united plastic compound. 178 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: But unlike his predecessors and their experiments with rubber, Hancock 179 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 1: did not immediately publish all of his findings. He recognized 180 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: the possible commercial benefit of keeping the masticator's working secret, 181 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: and he ended up working with Charles McIntosh. So we'll 182 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: be talking about the man whose name with a different 183 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: spelling is still associated with raincoats in just a moment. 184 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: Before we get into Charles McIntosh's story, we're going to 185 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. Charles McIntosh that spelled mac 186 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 1: there's no K in his proper name spelling was born 187 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: in Glasgow, Scotland, on December twenty ninth, seventeen ninety nine. 188 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: Perhaps almost all accounts of his life list that as 189 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: his date of birth, but the dissenter in information on 190 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: this particular note is a pretty significant one. It's the 191 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,719 Speaker 1: National Records of Scotland website which lists his birth date 192 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: as November twenty ninth, and there is a photo of 193 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: the birth and baptism entry for Charles McIntosh. It is 194 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: easy to make out the Nov November on the entry, 195 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: as well as the macintosh spelled differently than he spelled 196 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: it in his lifetime, and the name Charles, but the 197 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: rest of the words are a little bit tricky to 198 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: make out. They are in handwritten script, which you know, 199 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: anyone's handwriting is tricky, and sometimes that very elegant but 200 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: very fancy looking you'll see in old documents is very 201 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: hard to discern. The December date, though, is what is given, 202 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: for example, in the biography of McIntosh that was written 203 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: by his son, so that date is what the immediate 204 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:17,079 Speaker 1: family used Charles's parents were George McIntosh and Mary Moore McIntosh. 205 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: George had a factory where die was produced, and his 206 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,680 Speaker 1: intention was that his son would one day take over 207 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 1: this business. As a boy, Charles attended grammar school and 208 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: was recognized early on for an aptitude in Latin language, 209 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:36,840 Speaker 1: in particular. After grammar school, he attended Caterick Bridge School 210 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: in Yorkshire. After studying in England for several years, Charles 211 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: went back to Scotland and started working at the counting 212 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:48,439 Speaker 1: house of another merchant in Glasgow that was a mister Glassford. 213 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: The goal was this position would further develop Charles's knowledge 214 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: of business, and in his biography this read sort of 215 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: like an apprenticeship, but sometimes it's characterized more McIntosh just 216 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,760 Speaker 1: getting a job as a clerk. Yeah, it seems like 217 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: there was a more clear career goal. I read a 218 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 1: few that were like, after being tired of being a clerk, 219 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: he became an inventor, and I'm like, that's not really right. 220 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,319 Speaker 1: But regardless of how that position began, the Glassfords and 221 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: the macintoshes were friendly and eventually both fathers and sons, 222 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: so four men total all became business partners and by 223 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 1: this point, McIntosh was already very interested in the latest 224 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: advancements in chemistry. He exchanged letters with a lot of 225 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: scientists about new discoveries and theories on the matter. He 226 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: was also a member of the Commercial Society of Glasgow, 227 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: which existed from seventeen eighty seven to eighteen oh three. 228 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: This group was formed so that merchants and businessmen in 229 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: the area could discuss and debate social and political issues 230 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: that impacted the economy. During this time, Charles McIntosh wrote 231 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: essays on various happenings of the day, including the late 232 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: eighteen teenth century friction between Britain and Ireland. This has 233 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: a decidedly pro British slant. He also wrote essays for 234 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: the society about European trade, agriculture, the iron trade, and 235 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: the manufacture of textiles, specifically wool. In his essay on wool, 236 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: he wrote quote this essay commences with expressions of regret 237 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 1: that the woolen manufacture should not have been introduced on 238 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: a scale of any extent in Scotland, seeing that the 239 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: country is in many respects well calculated for it. And 240 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: these essays were written when McIntosh was still very young. 241 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: They were all written before he was even twenty one, 242 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: and during that time he was also busy working on 243 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: starting his own business enterprise. He started a company in 244 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: partnership with his father and another investor named William Cooper 245 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: to manufacture ammonium chloride, which at the time was called 246 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: sal ammoniac. This was not a glamorous enterprise. McIntosh's primary 247 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: sources that he used for extraction of ammonium chloride were 248 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: soot and urine, and it was difficult to process in 249 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: the late seventeen hundreds, but then it could be sold 250 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: to metalsmith's and pharmacies. This business only lasted about six years, 251 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: but during it Charles was often corresponding with experts in 252 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: production to refine his process and to use the resources 253 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: he had available through this venture to perform some additional 254 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: experiments of his own and expand the company's offerings. Not 255 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: long after the company formed, Charles started traveling around Europe 256 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: to make sales deals some involved having a lot of 257 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: pluck for a man in his early twenties, but to 258 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: be clear, he had a lot of help from his 259 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: father and his father's business associates, all of whom made 260 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: introductions for him and encouraged their various contacts to consider 261 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: doing business with him. When Macintosh returned to Scotland, he 262 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: brought back some knowledge as well, including of new innovations 263 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: in chemistry. According to an early nineteenth century Scotland statistics report, 264 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: it was Charles McIntosh who introduced the production of acetate 265 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: of lead and acetate of alumina into Britain. McIntosh wrote 266 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: about this in a letter to a business associate several 267 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: years later in eighteen hundred. Quote, when in Holland, I 268 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: was admitted to see a sugar of lead work, and 269 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: was struck with the circumstance of both the lead and coal, 270 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,920 Speaker 1: and frequently the malt used in making the vinegar, employed 271 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: in it being imported into Holland from Britain, and that 272 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: the manufactured article, when sent back to US, should become 273 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: loaded upon its arrival with a duty of threepence per pound. 274 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 1: On my return to Glasgow, I attempted to make sugar 275 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,959 Speaker 1: of lead and was successful in making as salt equal 276 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: in quality to the Dutch. I established a manufactory of 277 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: it in the year seventeen eighty six, which as you know, 278 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: has been going on pretty successfully ever since. So he 279 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: had realized that he could circumvent that process of exporting 280 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: raw material that was used in making lead and then 281 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,479 Speaker 1: importing the acetate and paying an import tax for it. 282 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,679 Speaker 1: This would have been something of significant interest to McIntosh 283 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: because lead acetate, as it is more commonly known today, 284 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: is a die fixative that's used in the textile industry, 285 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: so it would have really benefited the family business to 286 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,479 Speaker 1: produce it right there in Glasgow instead of dealing with 287 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,560 Speaker 1: all these imports and exports. This actually led to Britain's 288 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: supplanting the Netherlands as the main exporter in Europe of 289 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: lead acetate. McIntosh had not patented his process, though, so 290 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: a lot of other manufacturers jumped into production as well. 291 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: McIntosh got married to Mary Fisher in seventeen ninety. They 292 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: most likely met through one of McIntosh's business contacts. It 293 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,160 Speaker 1: seems like all of his life was kind of set 294 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: up through his and his father's business contracts because her 295 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: father was also a Glasgow merchant. McIntosh was involved in 296 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: a lot of businesses in his early years. He made 297 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: advancements in dye production, particularly with the color known as 298 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: Prussian blue. He also opened Scotland's first alum works. One 299 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: of the advertisements that ran for one of his products. 300 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 1: Read quote Charles Macintosh in Company's refined malt vinegar for 301 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: the use of families and for pickling, et cetera vinegar 302 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 1: of the most superior quality for the above purposes, warranted 303 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: and perfectly pure vegetable acid in which the most delicate 304 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 1: tests can detect no adulteration of any kind, and which 305 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: will never spoil from keeping nor deposit any slimy gelatinous substance. 306 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: This vinegar will be found equal in strength and flavor 307 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: to the strongest French white wine vinegar, over which it 308 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 1: possesses many advantages. I can't imagine a modern ad for 309 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: any kind of food products invoking slimy, gelatinous substances. That's 310 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: why that cracked me up. So if you read most 311 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: versions of the raincoat creation story, they state that in 312 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty three, McIntosh was kind of working on a 313 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: sustainability project. He wanted to find uses for the coal 314 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: tar naptha that was produced in gas works. So naptha 315 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: is an oily liquid that's produced when natural gas condensates 316 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: and coal tar used in production distills into the desired 317 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: gas and that condensation. This often reads as though it 318 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: was kind of a Eureka moment where he goes, oh, 319 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,639 Speaker 1: I could use this. But as we've discussed, a lot 320 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: of scientists were working to get to a way to 321 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: work with rubber, and naptha had already been arrived at 322 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: as a really viable option in that quest. McIntosh was 323 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: interested in chemistry and would have absolutely had to read 324 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: about the work of his predecessors. This was such a 325 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: popular topic that it would have been really hard to 326 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: avoid reading about it, and several years before he got 327 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: to his part in the rubber story, in eighteen nineteen, 328 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: Macintosh made an agreement with the Glasgow Gas Works to 329 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: buy the waste products that were left after using coal 330 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,880 Speaker 1: to make gas. Those products were tar and amonaical liquor. 331 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: Some of these waste products were used in the various 332 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 1: dye processes that Macintosh worked on, but he also put 333 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: them to use in other textile experiments, including with rubber. 334 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: So the actual invention and I feel like we should 335 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: hear quote that, since he's kind of acting on many 336 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 1: other ideas that people have had, is described as follows 337 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: in an account written by Thomas Hancock. He's the one 338 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: that invented that mast cator machine quote. After the separation 339 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: of the ammonia in the conversion of tar into pitch 340 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: to suit the purposes of consumers, the essential oil termed 341 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: naptha is produced, and the thought occurred to him of 342 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,640 Speaker 1: its being possible to render this also useful from its 343 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: powers as a solvent of couch shuk or India rubber. 344 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: By exposure to the action of the volatile oil termed 345 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 1: naptha obtained from the coal tar, he converted this substance 346 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 1: into a waterproof varnish, the thickness and consistency of which 347 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: he could vary according to the quantity of naphtha which 348 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: he employed in the process. So Macintosh realized or maybe 349 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:23,479 Speaker 1: confirmed for himself, that naptha could break down India rubber 350 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 1: into a dissolved form. India rubber is the naturally occurring 351 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: rubber that can be extracted from various tropical plants. Incidentally, 352 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: it went from being called kouchook, which was a term 353 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: taken from indigenous languages in the Americas, to being called 354 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: India rubber when English speaking scientists realized it could be 355 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: used to rub out unwanted writing or drawing marks from 356 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: a pencil. That India is a reference to the West Indies, 357 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 1: not the Indian subcontinent. Yes, in that way that many 358 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: European names for things don't actually make sense of them. 359 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: Just thought we would make clear on that. So once 360 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,159 Speaker 1: Macintosh had a fluid stable rubber to work with, he 361 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: started experimenting with it on fabric and eventually he spread 362 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: some onto a piece of wool, and then he did 363 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,439 Speaker 1: a thing that other people had not. He layered another 364 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: piece of wool on top of that, sort of gluing 365 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: them together and creating a waterproof fabric. Once Macintosh had 366 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: his fabric tested and a method developed for large scale production, 367 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: he went right into manufacture. He received a patent for 368 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: his method of waterproofing fabric on June seventeenth, eighteen twenty three. 369 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: It was the fourth British patent for an invention that 370 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: utilized rubber, and by the following year he was in 371 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: full production of Macintosh Fabric. He had added that extra 372 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: K into the name as part of his trademark for this. 373 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: I was never able to ferret out exactly why, but 374 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: I suspect it was to keep this separate from his 375 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,320 Speaker 1: other companies that had the Macintosh name attached. We'll talk 376 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: about some of the problems with the early raincoats made 377 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: from this material. Right after we hear from some of 378 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep Stuffy miss in history class going. So, 379 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,680 Speaker 1: this invention of waterproof fabric was a really huge moment 380 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: in clothing technology, the first synthetic fabric, so the things 381 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: that are so crucial to our rain gear today, for example, 382 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: would not be invented for more than a century. People 383 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,360 Speaker 1: had wanted waterproof clothing for a long time, and this 384 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: was a big stuff forward, but it was not perfect. 385 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: There were a lot of issues right out of the gate. 386 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: For one, that fabric was hot, blazingly hot. Two layers 387 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: of wool plus a rubber layer that did not breathe 388 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: in between them meant that garments made with Macintosh's fabric 389 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 1: could really only be worn comfortably in the coldest weather. 390 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: But it doesn't only rain when it's cold. Additionally, sometimes 391 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: the rubberized adhesive that Macintosh had created would become viscous 392 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: in warm weather, and the fabric would become sticky as 393 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,719 Speaker 1: it kind of oozed out through the weave. For another, 394 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: that combination of wool and rubber had some other longevity issues. 395 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: Wool contains oil even after it's been washed, it retains 396 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: some of the oils that it naturally has. As a 397 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: product that grows out of an animal, an oil can 398 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: break down a lot of sticky substances. This is our 399 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,159 Speaker 1: hot tip moment. If you're ever having trouble removing a 400 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: bandage that's adhered to your skin, just break out a 401 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: little lotion or baby oil. It works better than soap 402 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: and water, and better than any harsher things you might use. 403 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: And that is the action that was in play here. 404 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,399 Speaker 1: So in this case, the wool's oil started to break 405 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: down the rubber coating that Macintosh had created, so the 406 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: garment's waterproof layer became less and less reliable over time. 407 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: And then here's the thing. Just sewing the garment together 408 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: meant that every stitch made a tiny hole in the 409 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,880 Speaker 1: rubber layer. That doesn't sound too bad, but then when 410 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: you consider that each seem essentially was a line of 411 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,159 Speaker 1: tiny perforations, and that water could soak through all of those, 412 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: you can see how it's a problem. Those are all 413 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: issues with this garment's functionality, but there was also an 414 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 1: issue of just general wearability. In the early raincoats, they 415 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: were very stiff, so moving around in them was pretty cumbersome. 416 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: They couldn't really be tailored, so the fit was sort 417 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: of like wearing a tent, and while it probably wasn't 418 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,199 Speaker 1: a huge concern for most people who were just happy 419 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,680 Speaker 1: to have a garment that would keep them mostly dry, 420 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 1: they were not esthetically very great. The only color they 421 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 1: came in was a drab green, and top things off, 422 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: they smelled pretty bad, and this was such an issue. 423 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: They smelled so bad that they were banned on public 424 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,400 Speaker 1: transportation in some cities. You cannot get on the trolley 425 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: if you're wearing a raincoat, which I guess means you 426 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: have to walk. So A number of the flaws of 427 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: these early garments made with macintosh fabric, like the stitching 428 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: lines creating a perforation, came about because McIntosh was making 429 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 1: the fabric and then he was selling that fabric to 430 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: garment makers, but tailors didn't really know how to work 431 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: with it. How could they. No one had ever sewn 432 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: rubberized fabrics before, and McIntosh had told them that they 433 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: need to glue the seams rather than just stitching, But 434 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: garment makers were kind of wary of taking sewing advice 435 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,879 Speaker 1: from a chemist who did not know how to sew. 436 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: So after a bit of frustration over this problem, McIntosh 437 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: just started production on garments in his own factory. This 438 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: is a really significant moment in clothing history for a 439 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: reason other than waterproofing. Charles McIntosh was one of the 440 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:05,000 Speaker 1: first garment manufacturers to create clothing in mass production. Most 441 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: clothing in the eighteen twenties was still bespoke. You didn't 442 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: go into a shop and buy ready made dresses or 443 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: suits off the rack. The idea of a clothing factory 444 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: was not really something that existed. The creation of an 445 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,360 Speaker 1: assembly line is usually credited to Ransom Olds or Henry 446 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,200 Speaker 1: Ford in the early nineteen hundreds, but McIntosh was eighty 447 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 1: or ninety years ahead of them. With a garment assembly line, 448 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: workers would be assigned to a particular part of the 449 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,439 Speaker 1: garment and then the pieces would move on to the 450 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: next station and another part of the factory. Completely different 451 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 1: from the idea of going to a tailor and having 452 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: a garment maid and they do the whole thing, yeah, 453 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: or making your own garment at home. Yeah. The ready 454 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: availability of the Macintosh raincoat once all of this was 455 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: up and running, actually heard its reputation a little for 456 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: a while. In a world, where clothes were usually custom 457 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: made for the wearer. The idea that a businessman and 458 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: a member of his household staff would wear the same 459 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 1: rain gear kind of made it seem less special. But 460 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: some of the hallmarks of the early macintosh coats, including 461 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: a tartan lining to reference its inventors Scottish heritage, have 462 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: persisted and today they're seen as marks of quality. Initially, 463 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: the target market for McIntosh's raincoat consisted of sportsmen and 464 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 1: domestic workers like coachman and footman. This sounds pretty specific, 465 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: but it covered the basis for a lot of social strata. 466 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: While somebody who worked as a member of a household 467 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: staff would benefit from having a waterproof coat for performing 468 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 1: duties that took them outside or walking to and from work, 469 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: wealthy people would of course want to have one in 470 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: case they wanted to go yachting or hunting, and for 471 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: the most part this gear was really geared toward men 472 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 1: until women's macintoshes were introduced. McIntosh worked on improvements to 473 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: the design of the raincoat on it an ongoing basis 474 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: to try to address the various issues and to expand 475 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: the company's offerings continuously. His Glasgow factory setup was initially 476 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 1: very labor intensive. The rubber solution had to be hand 477 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: brushed onto the wool and then once applied, it was 478 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: smoothed out again by hand with a spatula to make 479 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: the application even, and this was done to both sides 480 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: of the wool fabric, and then those two rubberized pieces 481 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,200 Speaker 1: of fabric would pass through a roller that pressed them together, 482 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: and that resulting fabric was then tested by hand by 483 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: applying water and seeing if any passed through. In eighteen 484 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: twenty five he started collaborating with Thomas Hancock, and McIntosh 485 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: soon realized that Hancock's masticator could really speed up production 486 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: and save money because it made it a lot easier 487 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 1: to dissolve rubber using less solvent. In eighteen thirty a 488 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: factory in Manchester was established to make macintosh rain wear, 489 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: and Hancock's masticators were part of that production line. There 490 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: were other updates to the process in the Manchester factory, 491 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: including spreading the waterproofing rubber onto fabric with a mechanized 492 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,400 Speaker 1: roller machine that was steam powered. That was eventually replaced 493 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: by a mechanism that rolled the fabric over a canister 494 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: that contained the waterproofing so that as the fabric passed 495 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: over it, the rubber was applied, and then it passed 496 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 1: through another machine that smoothed it out. That partnership with 497 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: Hancock also led to a court battle, although it was 498 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: not between the two inventors involved in the business deal. 499 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,920 Speaker 1: Hancock had continued to keep the workings of his masticator 500 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: secret so that it would retain its market value, but 501 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: one of his employees blabbed about it, and also blabbed 502 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: the process that was being used to make macintoshes. That 503 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: led to other manufacturers using McIntosh's process. Specifically, a company 504 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: called Everington and Son was a silk dealer which was 505 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,360 Speaker 1: headed by a man named Wyn Ellis. Both McIntosh and 506 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: Hancock were eager to their patents and their markets, so 507 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 1: they sued, and in February eighteen thirty six, McIntosh versus 508 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: Everington and Ellis was tried in the Court of Commons. 509 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 1: As part of the defense's case, it was revealed that 510 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: at least two years before McIntosh had gotten the patent 511 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: for his fabric rubber fabric sandwiching technique, balloonist Charles Green 512 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,239 Speaker 1: had done the same thing with balloon silk, but in 513 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: Green's case, he wasn't publishing that technique. It was kept 514 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: secret to give him an edge in this rapidly expanding 515 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: field of ballooning. That secrecy meant that it had not 516 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: been something that McIntosh would have known, and he did 517 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: hold a patent, so even if Green had shared this 518 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: with the firm of Everington and Son, there was no 519 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: legal ownership of the process on their part. One of 520 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: the points made by Thomas Hancock during the trial was 521 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: the fact that his employee sharing what he knew was 522 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: a secret meant that the work he and Charles McIntosh 523 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,080 Speaker 1: did to get the other was original in nature. Yeah, like, 524 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: if everybody knew about this already, why did my employee 525 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: have to secretly blab it. During the lawsuit, the Attorney 526 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: General pointed out how very synonymous McIntosh had become at 527 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: that point with the manufacture of raincoats and made the 528 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: comment quote, this patent has become almost as well known 529 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 1: as Watt and Bolton's patent for making steam engines or 530 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: arc rights for making spinning machines. Many witnesses were called 531 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: to testify that yes, while there were other people who 532 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:37,239 Speaker 1: had worked on waterproofing fabric with rubber McIntosh had been 533 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 1: the only one to progress those efforts to a point 534 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: where a manufactured good was put into production, and that 535 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,920 Speaker 1: that was only possible because of the innovation he had 536 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 1: achieved in sandwiching those layers. According to newspaper accounts, as 537 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,480 Speaker 1: the judge was beginning his summation of the evidence to 538 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: the jury, the jury stopped him and gave the verdict 539 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: for the plaintiff after spending just a few minutes conferring 540 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 1: this in the courtroom. McIntosh had to go to the 541 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 1: Court of Chancellory next for an injunction against Everington and Son, 542 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,799 Speaker 1: which he did. He also petitioned for an extension of 543 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: his patent, which was set to expire on June seventeenth, 544 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,239 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty seven, which was just a year later. McIntosh 545 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 1: did not get that extension, so all of that battle 546 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,239 Speaker 1: was really just for the benefit of a year of 547 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:28,520 Speaker 1: patent protection. There's an interesting note here about Hancock in 548 00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:32,760 Speaker 1: his ongoing secrecy and protection of his patent and Macintosh's. 549 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:36,879 Speaker 1: Although the entire trial was reported in a periodical called 550 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 1: Mechanics Magazine, none of the secret workings of the masticator 551 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: or the production of Macintosh's raincoats were revealed, even though 552 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: they were discussed at length in testimony, and that is 553 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:52,239 Speaker 1: because Hancock had close contacts at the magazine and he 554 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 1: had been very clear with them that he would really 555 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:58,160 Speaker 1: rather not see any of their production specifics spilled in 556 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:00,880 Speaker 1: print when they were fighting so so hard against the 557 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 1: theft of them to begin with. Just a few years 558 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,880 Speaker 1: after the lawsuit, a new technology emerged that totally changed 559 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:14,479 Speaker 1: the raincoat industry. Vulcanized rubber was introduced in eighteen thirty nine. 560 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: This was the work of Charles Goodyear. Goodyear wanted to 561 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 1: improve on the qualities of India rubber, which melted in 562 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:23,960 Speaker 1: the heat and then would stiffen up to the point 563 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,319 Speaker 1: that it cracked in the cold. According to legend, it 564 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,920 Speaker 1: was an accident that Goodyear added sulfur to rubber and 565 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: a heating vessel, but the result was vulcanized rubber that 566 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,759 Speaker 1: was a lot more resilient to temperature changes than its 567 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,399 Speaker 1: predecessor had been. This became the standard for rainwear use. 568 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,880 Speaker 1: You can find lots of old pictures of storefronts of 569 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:51,320 Speaker 1: Goodyear raincoat stores. Yes, I will tell a slight story 570 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 1: about that in our behind the scenes uh. Charles McIntosh 571 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: did not get a lot of time to marvel at 572 00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:01,160 Speaker 1: the advances of vulcanized rubber. He died on Jill eighteen 573 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: forty three from influenza. He had made quite a healthy 574 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:08,520 Speaker 1: fortune for himself. In a census taken two years before 575 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,240 Speaker 1: his death, his household showed that, in addition to the family, 576 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 1: a butler and six other members of house staff were 577 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:20,400 Speaker 1: living there. Macintosh was buried in the churchyard at Glasgow Cathedral. 578 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:24,080 Speaker 1: Fourteen ushers were on hand for the burial, and forty 579 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:28,719 Speaker 1: carriages carried the grieving parties to the service. Although Macintosh 580 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 1: was the brand name of the coat made by Charles 581 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,800 Speaker 1: McIntosh's company, as we mentioned at the top of the episode, 582 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,080 Speaker 1: you might have seen a coat or a jacket just 583 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: referred to generically as a Macintosh or a mac even 584 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: if it wasn't one that was made by the Macintosh company. 585 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:48,319 Speaker 1: Much the same way that trademarked words like Kleenex and 586 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:52,560 Speaker 1: coke have become more generically used for things like tissue 587 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:56,320 Speaker 1: and soda, the macintosh has come to mean almost any 588 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: kind of raincoat, and it sometimes even applied to garments 589 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:04,640 Speaker 1: that are waterproof, and that's not something that happened just conversationally. 590 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,760 Speaker 1: There are print catalogs from as early as the nineteen 591 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 1: twenties with British retailer herods calling all of their raincoats 592 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:19,279 Speaker 1: Macintoshes with that K in the spelling. Yes, there are 593 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: lots of weird arguments. You can also find online about 594 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,920 Speaker 1: people debating over whether it should always be capitalized or not, 595 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: or if it has just become a noun on its own. 596 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,280 Speaker 1: There have, of course been many many advancements in rainwear 597 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,760 Speaker 1: since Charles McIntosh's death, and textile technology continues to evolve, 598 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,799 Speaker 1: but the first mass produced rainwear was manufactured because of 599 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:46,160 Speaker 1: his work, and you can incidentally still buy a Macintosh 600 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: branded raincoat today. Although the company has also evolved over 601 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,560 Speaker 1: the years, the raincoats are still made by hand with 602 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:57,320 Speaker 1: old school methods in a factory that's now in Cumbernold, Scotland. 603 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,319 Speaker 1: To work at Macintosh as a coatmaker you have to 604 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,800 Speaker 1: apprentice for three years, learning their specific techniques for production. 605 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:08,760 Speaker 1: They regularly partner with high end designers now to produce 606 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,600 Speaker 1: their rainwear lines because the name is so synonymous with 607 00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:15,440 Speaker 1: quality and those early issues with being so affordable that 608 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 1: they were considered perhaps cheap is no longer in play. 609 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,800 Speaker 1: A wool Macintosh raincoat today will set you back close 610 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,279 Speaker 1: to one thousand euros. They're beautiful. I see why. They're 611 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: beautifully tailored, but definitely not something for the everyman anymore. 612 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,759 Speaker 1: That is the story of the Macintosh. Anyone who knows 613 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:39,400 Speaker 1: me might be able to guess where I got the 614 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:42,160 Speaker 1: idea for this episode, which I will reveal on Friday. 615 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:51,759 Speaker 1: Oh yay. Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. 616 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 1: If you'd like to send us a note, our email 617 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:58,440 Speaker 1: addresses History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com, and you can 618 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:00,759 Speaker 1: subscribe to the show on the ie heart radio app, 619 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shoes