Not with a Bang But a Sssss

The American Way of Life is fast becoming one big sssssssssss. The ubiquitous hiss comes from the vast, ever-expanding array of aerosol cans that has brought the pushbutton age to everyday living. There are already more than 300 products available in aerosol cans, and their uses range from the routine to the recondite; they perfume rooms, freshen mattresses, renew golf balls, stiffen petticoats, bandage wounds, de-ice windshields, inflate flat tires, wax furniture, varnish oil paintings, scare off snakes and ward off pregnancies.

The gently hissing cans have not only revolutionized the packaging of many traditional products; they have also created entirely new ones. The Post Office, for example, has bought 120,000 bottles of animal repellent for mailmen to clip onto their belts. American males have used 79,995,404 aerosol cans of shaving lather, while their women prettied up with 253,052,659 cans of hair spray.

The aerosol age began during World War II, when the Department of Agriculture developed the pressurized can as the ideal method of packaging insecticide for the armed services. From a postwar standing start, the aerosol industry by last year had produced more than 1.2 billion units.

The can that goes sssssss can be a big nuisance. Aerosol paint containers are an irresistible temptation to mischief makers (TIME, July 3). The aerosol foghorn, a boon for boating buffs, proved a nerve-shattering bore at political conventions this year.

On the other hand, an important breakthrough is at hand in the aerosol packaging of medicine and food. In these fields, aerosol cans have the special advantage of exposing to the air only whatever quantity of a product is actually used. There are various propellants (the pressurized gases that push the product out of the can) that are safe for most foods or drugs. However, the industry has had trouble developing different ways of combining container, valve and propellant at a reasonable cost. There will soon be radioactive inhalants for lung cancer patients, inhalant vaccines, allergens, and aerosol insulin to replace injections.

For the hale and hearty, there will be pushbutton meals. How about chicken liver pate, followed by salmon mousse, whipped potatoes and a vegetable puree with hollandaise sauce? For dessert: a zabaglione worthy of the finest chef. Seconds, anyone? sssss . . .

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