Quote:
Originally Posted by sanking  From The Film Developing Cookbook, by Stephen G. Anchell and Bill Troop, p. 25.
"One interesting attribute of pyrocatechin is that this toxic benzene chemical is a constituent of human urine. How or why the human body manufactures pyrocatechin is something we will leave to future generations of scientists — or theologians. Perhaps the Creator forsaw a time when developing agents would be in short supply but film would be plentiful?
Two comments.
1. The author of that statement gets an A+ for humo(ou)r and irony.
2. Could it be that the time of the rapture is closing in on us?
Sandy King |
The creator was right. In the time of the depression, around 1935, the Germans were unable to buy pyrogallol (it has to come from elsewhere). So the Germans has to switch to other development agents. Although, they did not switch to pyrocatechol, they tried pyrogallol related compounds instead.
Pyrocatechol has been the domain of the professional European photographers for a long long time. It was precise and difficult to handle for 'amateurs'. After WWII, in 1945, there were almost no photographic chemicals in Europe available. At that time, even amateurs, switched to the pyrocatechol for a short time, using the recipe the professionals were using. Therefore, the creator has to be very inventive to find a way to block the way of a photographer.
Jed
