I never knew that . . . A friend sent me an article from the Washington Post Magazine about Corbis-Bettmann’s controversial photo archival project, and this little tidbit was enclosed: "The gelatin layer of film is made from connective tissues of cows . . . "
Yikes! I knew what Soylent Green was, but who knew photos were made from cows?! Wonder if PETA is hep to this, or religious Muslims . . .
I thought it is Hindus who venerate (is that the right word?) the cow. Pork is forbidden to Muslims.
Who knew that cows were so well-connected.
Yep.
The Kodak plant that processes cow (and, no doubt, other animal remains) into gelatine for photographic emulsion is located not far from me, in Peabody, Mass. Curiously, the General Foods plant that processes gelatine for Jello isn’t all that far away, just off Route 93.
Who would’ve thought Boston was the center for gelatine manufacture?
If it makes you feel any better, the dominance of digital imaging will no doubt triumph over gelatine emulsion photography soon enough, and we can begin grieving over poor silicon wafers sacrificed to our greed for pictures.
The Cow is what gives a Doper his power. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the pictures together.
That is another wet keyboard and moniter for lieu
This just in from Nitpick Central:
It’s only in the abysmal movie Soylent Green that Soylent Green is People!!! In Harry Harrison’s book Make Room! Make Room! Soylent Green is, as the name implies, a mixture made from Soybeans and Lentils. Harrison has written long Harlan Ellison-esque pieces about the abuse of his source material.
(On the other hand, in a Little Dot comic I had as a kid, someone says that “lentils are dehydrated people!” It’s a good thing I was a skeptical kid, and we didn’t eat lentils, or I’d be even more screwed up than I am.)
Well, I knew someone wasn’t supposed to eat cows!
. . . This explains why I look so much like a cow in my photos . . .
Udder nonsense!
Eve, darling. You ARE venerated, but are NOT a cow.
[pause] Phew. That is the right word.
Well, this oughta add steam to India’s digital photography moovement.
So a photograph of a cow would be, like, cannibalism!
(Gary Larson-esque Cow to Bull): Oh, stop it! For one thing, it’s a beautiful photograph. And for another, it’s no one you know.
I thought the cow didn’t want me to take it’s picture for fear of the camera stealing it’s soul.
But this is starting to all make sense now.
Yes, they are. I don’t know what their recommendation was pre-digital photography.
Whew, what a relief. I always thought they were dried mouse testicles.
(Far Side cow to cow baby-photographer): You’re a sick, sick man, Hal.
Wow. I’ll file that under “Things I never even suspected and are throughly disturbed by”
Hmm…wonder what PETA would have to say about this? Will all of their brochures and print ads now read, “Cow-Free Film”?
Jeezus, eve, weren’t you paying attention during the Green-Wood cemetery tour? Mr. Cashman asked what Peter Cooper invented. (I raised my hand to answer, but the selfish old glory-hog wouldn’t let me tell it.) The answer: Jello. (Gelatin, really, but I let the old coot get away with his storybook version.)
This prompted a few dismayed quips from some Dopers along the lines of, “Why was he playing around with horse hooves [the traditional source of gelatin]?”
That should have tipped you off that gelatin does not come from the Gelatin Tree, or something like that.