This black and white film is one of a 1950-1960 television series Industry on Parade, produced by the National Association of Manufacturers. This is a single segment about safety improvements across various industries. A housewife in a dress wears a half apron as she prepares dinner in a 1950s kitchen. She uses a wall can opener to open a can of tomatoes. She uses a hand pot holder to check on a pan in the oven. A group of business men examine recipes (:40-1:18). A metal ball is swung against a 1950s TV screen at the Underwriter’s Laboratories in Chicago. Heaters are tested for flammability by placing handkerchiefs over them; one catches on fire and the other doesn’t. Electrical chords are twisted and untwisted. Roofing material is tested for fire-resistance. Smoke pours from a factory building purposely caught on fire. A laboratory worker watches how equipment burns (1:19-3:12). An explosion of dust blasts from a building. One gasoline drum explodes flames and smoke high into the air. Foam is sprayed to put a fire out (3:13-4:00). At the Western Pine Association Research Laboratory, a researcher shows how a wood finish swells up when exposed to flames to form its own insulation. When cut away, the wood remains unaffected. An electric eye saw automatically snips out knots in lumber (4:01-4:44). A National Furniture Manufacturers group studies a blackboard of wood shrinkage statistics. A piece of wood is pushed to the limit to determine its strength. Electrode reactors attached to chair legs measure strength as a man leans back in it (4:45-5:24). A laboratory in Appleton, WI tests paper products in various solutions. A researcher tests waste materials in a bowl with fish. Samples in a pyrofilm tent are subjected to high humidity for long periods. Boxes are put into a tumble tester and eventually spill their contents of tin cans (5:25-6:57). Scientists at the Gemological Institute evaluate and identify questionable gem stones. Microscopes are used to examine the interiors of gems. The first shown is an uncut octahedron16-carat diamond’s inclusions. An emerald is checked on the refractometer and its interior shown. A sapphire viewed up-close reveals it’s man-made compared to the real sapphire’s interior. A diamond’s flaws are point at (6:58-9:18). Researchers at the American Institute of Laundering subject a man’s shirt to tests. It is measured, put inside a mesh bag, and washed in the Laundry Department’s commercial washing machines. Bursting strength is measured using a rubber diaphragm and high pressure. The fadeometer (shown closed and opened) tests resistance to fading in sunlight (9:19-11:13). Cars are driven erratically at a test track over different types of terrain. A 1950s sedan smashes into a metal box and the front crumbles; men come over to examine the damage. A 1930s car is released from a tow rope and rolls multiple times off the side of the road followed by a 1950s Chevy to test crash improvements. The windshield is cracked but the door still opens and closes (11:14-12:55).

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