
The World’s Largest Speedo Collection Almost Oozed Away - GW150914
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/speedo-collection-at-powerhouse-museum
======
cantrevealname
> _The Lycra in the suits contained ester-based polyurethane, a plastic that
> deteriorates when it comes in contact with water._

This reminded me of the water soluble paper I bought at a magic shop. It looks
just like ordinary paper--you can write notes on it and even use it in a
printer--but it dissolves into a mush within seconds on contact with water.
Presumably a spy or bookmaker could spit on or chew his notes to quickly
destroy them if apprehended. I can't imagine any real use, but it's a cool
gift for people who like gadgets and spy craft. An instantly dissolving
swimsuit would make an even more amusing gift!

~~~
robk
Bookies love this potato paper

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Theodores
Survivorship bias in swimsuits is not something I have thought of before, glad
someone is doing something about it and I really mean that. I am sure that
cycling kit also falls prey to the same lycra problems, this you can see if
you look at the gear that a very well seasoned cycle tourist wears compared to
a cyclist that has only recently started to get all the gear.

On the more general topic of survivorship bias and historical artifacts, think
of how much stuff was made of wicker for almost all of it to bio-degrade. If a
society can weave wicker then that is all the home furnishings sorted, no
fancy tools needed. Yet, nothing is left for the historical record. Previous
civilisations could have had the comfiest chairs known to man yet the
archaeologists could come along and, sitting in plastic chairs, assume the
'group of savages' never made it as far as the Stone Age.

~~~
bena
There's another weird thing with creating with preservation in mind.

I'm sure when Speedo made those suits, they weren't thinking about whether
they'd keep for 40 or 50 years. The idea is that it would be like other
clothes. You buy it, wear it until it becomes too threadbare or tears or some
other normal thing, discard it, then buy another.

That's why historical districts kind of fascinate me. The people who built
that house, that pub, that shop, they weren't thinking "Geez, this will stand
forever as a perfect representation of life right now", they were thinking
"Well. I need a roof over my head".

And they'd build extensions, re-purpose rooms, remodel, etc. All the normal
things you do in a house. Then eventually, it becomes a historic landmark and
it freezes in time. You can't tear it down, you can't alter it, you can't do
much with it anymore. But these weren't concerns of the original builders.
It's likely they did tear down something to put this up. It's all very weird
to me. Especially since I do like checking out those kinds of places and I
know that those preservation efforts are what allows us to have this view into
the past.

But it is odd.

~~~
1996
Anyone can make a house or a bridge too sturdy.

Only an engineer can make it "just sturdy enough" for its designated use,
saving money.

------
jpatokal
Tangentially related: "The start of a relay race" picture was not taken at an
indoor swimming pool, but the open-air Dawn Fraser Baths, which are really
just a fenced-off section off the Parramatta River. This is Australia's oldest
public swimming pool and it's still open today, essentially unchanged from
what it was in the 1880s.

[https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-
sydney/balm...](https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-
sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths)

~~~
bunderbunder
Google cache for folks outside Australia:
[https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_90...](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bHy_909JMVoJ:https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/inner-
sydney/balmain/attractions/dawn-fraser-baths)

(I was redirected to us.sydney.com, in the manner of
[https://xkcd.com/869/](https://xkcd.com/869/) )

------
russfink
Can we use this idea to make enviro-degradable plastic bags that won’t clog up
the oceans? (Maybe not cost effective, but could there be a cheaper compound
out there?)

~~~
mhb
Edible spoons: [https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-
bakeys/](https://mashable.com/2016/03/26/edible-spoon-bakeys/)

------
goldenkey
TLDR; polyurethane like most plastics, decomposes over time, with the
decomposition speed catalyzed by higher humidity. Museum needed to build an
environmental chamber to store these plastic-knit swimsuits in. [1]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_chamber)

~~~
Cthulhu_
If you're making clothing / textiles for the ages, don't use plastics.

~~~
sincerely
Racing suits, especially the most high performance ones, are usually designed
to perform well for about one or two swim meets before they start losing their
effectiveness. Hardly longevity-focused design ;) Hell, I'm surprised that it
took this long for the museum to run into issues with long-term storage.

