[HN Gopher] A Brief History of Parafilm
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       A Brief History of Parafilm
        
       Author : ctoth
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2023-02-05 18:37 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (cell.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (cell.substack.com)
        
       | Metacelsus wrote:
       | This is Metacelsus (co-author). Parafilm is really quite
       | fascinating. If anyone knows what the 'M' stands for, I'd be very
       | excited to learn!
        
         | kurthr wrote:
         | I think that the M stands for Medium (or perhaps moisture
         | controlling?), because there is an eXtreme version X that is
         | thicker and for harsher environments. I only know of it,
         | because it was more difficult to use (stretch) if someone
         | bought the wrong stuff.
         | 
         | We used it in chem/clean rooms for decades since it doesn't
         | develop static charge (as badly as cling wrap). Neither deals
         | well with high temperatures or solvents.
        
           | Metacelsus wrote:
           | Hmm, I've never heard of Parafilm X and it doesn't show up in
           | any searches. Do you have a link to it?
        
       | gumby wrote:
       | An indispensable product and, as the article mentions, source of
       | much speculation and argument, whether as work avoidance or
       | something to think/talk about during downtime.
       | 
       | When I think of how different labs are equipped and what's in
       | common, parafilm is one of those I imagine almost every one will
       | have.
        
       | AlotOfReading wrote:
       | The fact that Parafilm hasn't been commercialized for the
       | consumer market has always baffled me. It's so much better than
       | consumer cling wraps and the bulk cost from supply houses is
       | within a couple multiples of consumer alternatives, so the price
       | wouldn't even be that far off. Slap some environmental branding
       | on a big roll and it should be able to compete directly with glad
       | et al at the grocery store.
        
         | ghaff wrote:
         | I totally forgot about that. I interned in a couple chemistry
         | labs in college.
         | 
         | Now that I think about it, a product like Glad Press 'N Seal
         | isn't quite Parafilm but it's a big improvement over the
         | conventional cling wrap for a lot of purposes. Not sure how
         | Parafilm costs compare--although prices probably aren't a great
         | proxy given probable margin differences.
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-05 23:01 UTC)