Trifles That Win Wars

Part of MGM's John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series, this 1943 entry looks at how three inventions are making a major contribution to the U.S. war effort. The first is the invention of celluloid when the makers of cue balls used in billiards issued a call for a replacement for the ivory they had been using up to time. This led to the widespread use of plastics. The second is French researcher Edouard Benedictus' discovery that the use of a thin coat of collodion would allow for the development of safety glass. The last if the use of spider's silk in military sights such as submarine periscopes and artillery range finders.