European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 8, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17 new York times graphic stuck on Teflon years by Ann Barry new York times Teflon the magical material that created something of a min revolution in the Kitchen is marking the 25th anniversary of its United states debut in cookware. The product was almost an overnight Success on its introduction and since then sales have swelled a Hundredfold. Currently 26 american cookware manufacturers use a nonstick finish. The beginning in january 1961, was a Little Nook of a restaurant mme. Romaine de Lyon in Manhattan. It was Well known As it still is for the vast variety of it ome lets. The astonishing properties of Teflon pans were to be demonstrated by the owner Romaine Champion. Champion had a reputation As a master Melet maker. What More dramatic Way to show off the new Erma Bombeck c Reeping privacy  like something out of the Spring Nursery Catalon does t it actually it s name i made up for a trend that has already hit the cities and May eventually invade the Countryside. It s a concentrated Effort to seek privacy from the rest of the world. I m not sure when it started but the front porch was one of its first victims. Remember front porches they had a swing that squeaked and Metal chairs that rusted and always needed painting. Everybody in the neighbourhood used to sit out there after dinner and sometimes they talked Back and Forth to one another. Nothing important. The weather. How the grass would have to be Cut before the weekend. How the next one up could get the lemonade. And then the front Yards got smaller and smaller and the front porch was phased out to a pot of dead Flowers and a Doorbell you could t hear in the Back Yard. The Back Yard became Disneyland with a Barbecue Jungle gym Patio lounges Sandbox and product it was thought than with ome lets which Are Apt to stick to Ordinary pans and Burn easily since then Teflon has found its Way into Home kitchens across the United states luring Consumers with its nonstick Quality a Fried egg would Glide from pan to plate like a puck on ice with its ease of cleaning and with the fact that it requires neither butter nor Oil in the frying or baking process. Three years after Teflon s appearance in new York electrical cookware made of it was displayed at the National housewares show in Chicago and was received enthusiastically. By that time a Market study showed that Teflon had increased sales of Metal cookware by 40 percent. Deep fat fryers Waffle Irons and portable toaster broilers had acquired a new face and so had Home cooking. People Felt virtuous cooking without fat and grateful for an easy cleanup Job. Teflon is not without its drawbacks. It is subject to vegetable Garden. It was Only a matter of time before the clothesline marred the scene and had to go. And with it went a part of americana that will never have such an Impact on american families. The clothesline was a meeting place of women. They caught up on the events of the Day shared dumped on one another and Clung together. The clothesline was the original newspaper of the Community. By Reading the clothes you could Tell who was toilet trained who was not who came Home on leave who had guests who got something new who cleaned House who did not who had sick children who was out of work who was going on vacation who was entertaining who overslept. To round out this extra room fences and Walls were built so they could Laze in privacy. There did t seem to be anything from neighbors they needed anymore. Large freezers in the garage and pantries in the houses held a storehouse of food supplies that you might have borrowed in earlier times. Unlisted phone numbers protected you from abrasion and thus wooden or plastic utensils Are recommended for use in cooking with it. According to Clint Archer a spokesman for . Dupont de Nemours & co., Teflon s maker this shortcoming has been addressed although it still is necessary to avoid using Metal utensils that could cause scratches. It is the material s grease free Quality however that has made it especially popular with today s health conscious americans concerned oven fats and cholesterol in their diet. Not Only frying pans but egg poachers ring holds muffin tins bread pans griddles pots and pans with All the various applications Are now made with Teflon. Unlike Many other chemical formulas Teflon was not sought out by researchers but was discovered by Chance. In 1938, Roy Plunkett a Young Dupont research chemist was experimenting with refrigeration gases. He noted that one of several cylinders in which he had stored the gases in dry ice registered no pressure and appeared empty. He weighed it and found it As heavy As the other cylinders. Emptying the Container he found a powdery substance which turned out to be a fluorocarbon resin eventually trademarked As Teflon. The material was hurried into wartime production it was inserted into radar systems for example where other less durable materials had failed. Teflon s properties include a High resistance to corrosion even at High temperatures from acids Alkalis solvents fuel oils and other substances. Not until after world War ii did private Industry Start developing the product for peacetime uses. Its no corrosive properties made it a natural for cookware yet its application in that area had to await the approval of the Federal food and drug administration. That approval did not come until 1960. Meanwhile in France where there was no Agency comparable to the ., a company called to fal had produced a line of cookware using the material. When the  Granted approval in the United states Dupont in a marketing research venture decided to promote the to fal line in America. The cookware was introduced at Champion s restaurant with immediate results householders started changing their preferences in cookware from unadorned Metal to coated Metal products. Today 68 percent of Metal cookware has a nonstick finish. In addition Teflon is being used on Glass Ceramic and plastic the materials popular in microwave cooking. John and Bob Benson and their sister Yvonne Fravola Are the current owners of mme. Romaine de Lyon their Mother was hostess and manager of the restaurant from 1950 to 1976. All three Are recent converts to Teflon cookware. Until a year ago according to Bob Benson who now serves As chef the Kitchen used Teflon pans Only for ome lets that rendered a lot of water such As Tomato and asparagus. For other dishes it depended on its original batteries de cuisine these were the Battery of pots and pans Champion had used Long before Teflon entered her restaurant and apparently Long after. When her pans finally gave out however the restaurant took to Teflon and now uses Only Teflon coated cooking equipment. Bothersome Calls and when you went outside to Cut the grass or take a walk there were headphones to isolate you from  creeping privacy paranoia got a toehold in society when we no longer needed humans to run our elevators get our groceries take us to a fitting room assist us with our withdrawals at the Bank sell us a newspaper or get change for a soft drink. I m As much a Carrier of creeping privacy paranoia As anyone else. I be traded communication for bumper stickers sociability for technology and accessibility for wheel of Fortune. What brought All this on was the other sunday i was walking through the neighbourhood and realized behind every Wall were lounge chairs with no one lounging in them Barbecue grills with nothing cooking on them and locks on Gates where no one wanted in. I used to talk to myself. I Don t even do that anymore. Maybe we re becoming too private. C 1986, los Angeles times Syndicate