“If it’s made of rubber we have it”: today’s Zippy:
(#1) United Rubber Supply Co., 54 Warren St., NYC
A murky photo:
(#2)
Previously on this blog, on 5/29/15, “Rubber trees, rubber plants”, with a section on senses of the word rubber (including rubbers ‘galoshes’, rubber ‘condom’, and rubber ‘eraser’)
From Wikipedia:
Before World War II significant uses [of natural rubber] included door and window profiles, hoses, belts, gaskets, matting, flooring and dampeners (antivibration mounts) for the automotive industry. The use of rubber in car tires (initially solid rather than pneumatic) in particular consumed a significant amount of rubber. Gloves (medical, household and industrial) and toy balloons were large consumers of rubber, although the type of rubber used is concentrated latex. [Also: rubber balls and rubber duckies. Rubber soles for shoes. And rubber sheeting.] Significant tonnage of rubber was used as adhesives in many manufacturing industries and products, although the two most noticeable were the paper and the carpet industries. Rubber was commonly used to make rubber bands and pencil erasers.
(#3) A thicket of rubber bands
Rubber produced as a fiber, sometimes called ‘elastic’, had significant value to the textile industry because of its excellent elongation and recovery properties. For these purposes, manufactured rubber fiber was made as either an extruded round fiber or rectangular fibers cut into strips from extruded film. Because of its low dye acceptance, feel and appearance, the rubber fiber was either covered by yarn of another fiber or directly woven with other yarns into the fabric. Rubber yarns were used in foundation garments.
While rubber is still used in textile manufacturing, its low tenacity limits its use in lightweight garments because latex lacks resistance to oxidizing agents and is damaged by aging, sunlight, oil and perspiration. The textile industry turned to neoprene (polymer of chloroprene), a type of synthetic rubber, as well as another more commonly used elastomer fiber, spandex (also known as elastane), because of their superiority to rubber in both strength and durability.
Now, three randomly chosen rubber items of cultural interest.
The rubber room of the title. Two related senses.
rubber room ‘padded cell’ from Wikipedia:
A padded cell is a cell in a psychiatric hospital with cushions lining the walls. The padding is an attempt to prevent a patient from hurting themselves by hitting their head (or other bodily parts) on the hard surface of the walls. In most cases, an individual’s placement in a padded cell is involuntary.
rubber room ‘reassignment center in the NYC school system’ from Wikipedia:
Reassignment centers are holding facilities for the New York City Department of Education, where more than 600 teachers accused of misconduct have been paid to work full-time doing nothing for months or years at a time while awaiting resolution of their cases. Among teachers they are referred to as rubber rooms. The city has 13 reassignment centers.
Musical rubber: Rubber Soul. With its pun on rubber sole. From Wikipedia:
(#4)
Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI’s Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single “Day Tripper” / “We Can Work It Out”.
… Often referred to as a folk rock album, Rubber Soul incorporates a mix of pop, soul and folk musical styles. The title derives from the colloquialism “plastic soul”, which referred to soul played by English musicians.
And at the movies, a killer tire. From Wikipedia:
(#5) You can watch the trailer here. It’s messy.
Rubber is a 2010 English-language French independent black comedy fantasy horror film about a tire that comes to life and kills people with its psychic powers. It was directed and written by Quentin Dupieux. The film was produced by Realitism Films. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, where it received positive reviews from critics.
The film’s own copy is tons more thrilling:
RUBBER is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path. Leaving a swath of destruction across the desert landscape, Robert becomes a chaotic force to be reckoned with, and truly a movie villain for the ages. Directed by legendary electro musician Quentin Dupieux (Steak, Nonfilm), aka Mr. Oizo, RUBBER is a smart, funny and wholly original tribute to the cinematic concept of “no reason.
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