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Blind workers find "lost" profits

Jan. 1, 2005
The January 3, 1955, issue described how sightless workers at Griffin factory for the Blind in Georgia had reclaimed $60,000 worth of small parts for B-47 bombers in one year. Workers sorted out mixed parts by touch and with special templets. According to
The January 3, 1955, issue described how sightless workers at Griffin factory for the Blind in Georgia had reclaimed $60,000 worth of small parts for B-47 bombers in one year. Workers sorted out mixed parts by touch and with special templets. According to the report, 40 workers had picked 42,000 lb of nuts, bolts, rivets, and fittings out of 56,000 lb of mixed items. The cost of the sorting was $47,000.

Army's experimental aluminum truck

That same issue reported on how Chrysler Corp. had built an experimental 21/2-ton truck for the U.S. Army. Made entirely of aluminum, the truck weighed 9,000 lb and was intended for airborne operations. Conventional Army 21/2 tons of the time weighed 14,000 to 15,000 lb.

"Telegraphing" production bottlenecks

A new use for TelAutograph, a system commonly used to transmit handwritten messages in hotels, banks, and other commercial institutions, was detailed in the January 17, 1955, issue. Aircraft maker Northrop Aircraft employed it to whittle down production delays for the Scorpion F-89D.

Northrop had installed sending-receiving units in 37 outlying plant areas to "instantly" communicate line problems or material shortages to its Central Control. Messages were recorded and relayed to affected sections.

The truth is out there

The news must have been full of reports on "sightings" of flying saucers in 1955. That might explain why editors felt compelled to voice their opinion on the validity of the subject in the January 31 issue.

Editors said the entire debate on whether or not the sightings were true was pointless — based on current scientific knowledge of the time. They pointed to other "crazy" theories that eventually proved true, including the idea that the earth was round and revolved around the sun; that Europe, Asia, and Africa were connected; and that if ships sailed west from Europe, they might eventually encounter a large, uncharted land mass. The last theory, formulated about 200 B.C., was eventually proved true in 1492.