14
As we drove up to a friend's suburban home
A. recently, I was surprised to see strips of
aluminum foil dangling in front of an ex
pansive picture window.
-9 1
"It's for the birds," my host said and he wasn't trying
to be facetious.
He told me that the early-morning sunrays obscure the
glass pane and that several birds recently had flown
headlong into it and were killed or injured. My bird-loving
friend solved the problem by hanging up strips of foil,
which glittered in the sunlight, thus warning the birds
there was an obstacle they couldn't fly through.
It wasn't long after this incident that family weekly
ran an article ("We Escaped from a 'White Dungeon,' "
June 16, 1963) in which small-boat owners were advised
to carry aluminum foil as a. safety measure. In case they
got lost in fog, the foil spread out on the deck would
show up clearly on Coast Guard radar and hasten rescue.
These unusual uses for aluminum foil set me off on a
search for other offbeat ways of utilizing this common
household product
A young college student who spends his vacations camp
ing told me that foil makes outdoor living easier. He no
longer burdens himself with bulky camping utensils; in
stead, he carries an extra supply of aluminum foil and
some coat hangers and makes his own utensils 1
If he wants a cup, he simply takes a square of foil and
molds it around his fist or a can. When he's through, he
doesn't wash or pack it but merely throws it away.
To make a cooking pot or a frying pan, he takes a double
layer of foil and molds it to the desired size. Then he bends
you con makt a flower holder of any size or shape with a wad of aluminum foil.
Does the
Darndest
Things
A "must" in every woman's kitchen, it's also a boon to handy man, campei
Family Weekly, August II, 1H3
a wire coat hanger into a loop and crimps the edges of the
foil pot or pan over the hanger. A portion of the hanger is
left extended from the loop to serve as a handle. During
cooking, he often wedges the handle between two rocks so
he doesn't have to hold it over the Are. When the meal is
finished, he places the foil behind his camper's lantern to
intensify the light
Not to be outdone, I recalled how I had gotten a head
start on my summer auntan. I'd taken two pieces of card
board (about 12 by 12 inches each), taped them together
like the covers of a book, and stapled a sheet of foil on the
front and back of each. I punched a hole in the center of
the lower edge of each "page," drew a string through the
holes and knotted the ends, then looped the string around
my neck. The result: a V-shaped reflector that helped me
get a glorious tan. (But beware: you know how well alu
minum helps you cook.)
In gathering unusual uses for foil, I found men enthusi
astic contributors. One man, who was using the roll-on
method to paint his den, mentioned that he lined the roller
pan with aluminum foil and so eliminated the need of
ff i f
cleaning the pan when he was finished. Instead, he just
threw away the foil lining. Another do-it-yourselfer pointed
out that foil also comes in handy when someone interrupts
a painting chore. He wraps the roller or brush in foil to
keep it moist while he's busy elsewhere, then later picks up
where he left off.
Aluminum foil also foils rust Hen who garden or who
have a workshop wrap their tools in foil to keep them from
pitting. And one fellow in our office uses foil to repair
broken toys or china. After gluing the broken parts to
gether, he wraps the object tightly in foil It holds the
parts firmly in place until the glue dries. (By the way, the
glue won't stick to the foil.)
Oh, yes I also heard of a coin collector who keeps his
coins bright by wrapping them in foil.
A friend of mine loves growing window plants, but her
home is heavily shaded by big elm trees. She solved the
problem by stretching a sheet of foil inside her window
sill so that it reflected sunlight onto the seedlings. This
gave them more evenly distributed light so she didn't have
to turn the seedlings to the sun every day or so.
And when mailing some plants recently, she wrapped
the roots in foil. This enabled her to leave plenty of dirt
on them. When they arrived at their destination, they were
fresh and ready to grow.
And here is a suggestion for cut-flower buffs. Crumple
some foil, place it in a vase or bowl, and mold it to the
bottom of the container. Insert flower stems into this foil
holder, alternating from front to back and side to side to
keep the holder from tipping over. If necessary, punch holes
in the crumpled foil so stems can be inserted more easily.
This way you can have a wonderful flower holder of almost
any shape or size! (See photo at far left)
If you live in a television fringe area, try boosting your
signal strength by crimping an oblong piece of foil around
w
the antenna lead on the back of your set Slide the foil up
and down so that you can determine the most efficient
placement Those who've tried it say they get better recep
tion and eliminate a lot of "snow."
If you have major tv interference, get a repairman to
shield the inside of the tv cabinet with foil, lapping all the
joints and grounding the foil securely to the set's chassis.
Caution: unplug the set first!
Of all the uses for foil I discovered, this one takes the
prize. Last June, a bride was frantic when she couldn't buy
shoes to match her expensive gown but her mother soon
came to the rescue. She used aluminum foil to make a pat
tern so she could cover a pair of her daughter's shoes with
left-over fabric from the wedding dress and everyone
lived happily ever after. -
I'm still collecting unusual uses for aluminum foil and
obviously have just scratched the surface. Just the other
day, I was sitting in my doctor's office when a silvery glint
under a chair caught my eye. It was a tight little ball of
aluminum foil, and I asked the doctor what it was.
He harumphed in embarrassment and, with reluctance,
reached beneath' his desk and pulled out a golf club a
putter, I think. "That little wad of foil," he said, "makes a
wonderful practice golf ball. Just the thing to putt around
between patients' appointments."
gardener and bird iover By ROSALYN ABREVAYA
Family Weekly. Asavjf II, IfH
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A MESSAGE ABOUT
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A small mistake . . . misspell
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