1940's Advertising-Glim Traditional Cache
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Size: 
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Elevation 371.0 m. 
A series dedicated to 1940's advertising. Each cache is a look back
at how the media portray common products, some good, some bad. All
of the locations will have something in common.
GLIM
The chemistry of soap manufacturing remain primarily the same until
the year 1916, when the first synthetic detergent was developed in
Germany in response to the shortage of fats for making soaps during
the World War I. Commonly known as detergents today,synthetic
detergents are non-soap washing and cleaning products, which are
put together chemically or synthesized to produce a variety of raw
materials. The invention of detergents was also driven by the need
for a cleaning agent, which, unlike soap, would not combine with
the mineral salts in water to form an insoluble substance (soap
curd) on the fabric.
The major uses of earlier detergents were in hand dishwashing and
fine fabric laundering. In 1946, came an important breakthrough in
the development of detergents for all-purpose laundry
applications,
when the first "built" detergent (containing a builder/surfactant
combination) was offered in the U.S. Surfactant is a basic cleaning
agent of a detergent product, while a builder helps a surfactant to
function more effectively. Phosphate compounds were used as
builders in these detergents, which significantly improved their
performance, thereby making them ideal for cleaning heavily soiled
laundry.
In 1942 Dr. William Edward "Butch" Hanford (December 9,
1908-January 27, 1996) left the company DuPont and took a job at
General Aniline and Film Corporation (GAF). At age
thirty-four,Hanford was made the director of research for the
entire company.
While at GAF, Hanford worked to produce the first commercial liquid
laundry detergent. In addition to working on the actual formula for
the detergent, Hanford also designed a better plastic bottle to
hold the new product. The new detergent was marketed under the name
Glim and had moderate commercial success.
GLIM was a dishwashing liquid made by the makers of Bab-O
Cleanser
(B.T. Babbit, Inc.). Glim was known for its unusual packaging. The
bottle that contained the liquid was placed upside down inside its
metal holder (don't ask me why they did this). Once the Glim was
purchased and taken home, the user removed the bottle and placed it
right side up in the metal holder.
"Glim" was trademarked by the General Aniline Film Corp. New York
in 1946 and renewed in 1967. It is no longer active.
Apparently Glim was a "Non-Ionic Chemical Liquid Detergent first
used in 1946. It is believed that the company changed hands about
1955 when the name was again registered by B.T. Babbit Inc. also of
New York who renewed it in 1975 at which time it was described as a
"Synthetic Chemical Liquid Detergent.
Bab-O had it's heyday in the 1930's and 1940's but by the 50's
began to face serious competition from Colgate Palmolive Peet with
Ajax The Foaming Cleanser and Proctor and Gamble with their equally
bright green cans of Comet. But by then, B.T. Babbitt was suffering
to the point where any stockholders who held stock with Babbitt had
assets in name that could yield no dividends. Finally, by the
mid 1960's, the deal was done and the company's registered
trademarks were summarily sold to other players.
The product is no longer available.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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