Talk:Formica (plastic)/Archives/2012

Article

Oh look, this article has copied copyrighted material straight from the link it references. What this now needs is an update and rewrite. --195.92.67.75 8 July 2005 23:36 (UTC)

Hey, this for mica story is referred two in the HBO series Six Feet Under, in season 4, episode 2. Is that a popular culture reference appropriate for this article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.235.251.198 (talk) 08:12, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - I was also going to add that I always heard it was from "formica", the latin for ant; it contains formaldeyde, which is related to formic acid - the acid found in ant stings. 90.216.40.204 (talk) 00:24, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

sentence fragment

I've just read this article and in the lead section there was "... hence the name they chose when they left Westinghouse to set up their own company in 1913. 1913 – and was rewarded with one dollar, the amount Westinghouse paid for rights to employee inventions. Within weeks, O’Conor and Faber quit Westinghouse to start their own business, enlisting lawyer and banker John G. Tomlin as an investor. Tomlin put up $7,500 and became a silent partner in the fledgling business."

I've commented out the "1913 – and was rewarded with one dollar, the amount Westinghouse paid for rights to employee inventions." sentence fragment as it makes no sense and I can't work out how to correct it. Thryduulf (talk) 23:48, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Etymology

Shouldn't the etymology section be sourced? I don't know whether to believe it or not. 91.84.78.27 (talk) 19:58, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Agree. Added "". It could just as easily come from the inventors names: F(aber)+O('Conor)+r+mica. ("r" since "fomica" sounds odd... !) --Ant (talk) 15:30, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Trivia: it is so anecdotic and what is the added value ?

The etymology of Formica's name was discussed in the TV series "Six Feet Under" (Season 4, Episode 2). Arthur, a mortitian trainee, says to George, a professor for geology: "I'm sure, being a geologist, you know Formica was originally developed as an electrical insulator, created as a replacement for mica, a silicate mineral, hence the word Formica". George replies: "Actually that's not true. Mica as well as biotite or muscovite is a silicate mineral, that's true. But Formica is a plastic laminate, developed for kitchen furnishings in the 1920s. The one has nothing whatsoever to do with the other."

Is this section worth to be preserved and displayed on this page on Formica: it is so anecdotic and what is the added value ? I would suggest to delete this section. Moreover, it is already discussed in the section Etymology Shinkolobwe (talk) 17:16, 8 May 2009 (UTC)