{"id":9020,"date":"2025-10-23T15:07:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T19:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/?p=9020"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T19:07:35","slug":"the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-storage-room-artifacts-in-the-collection-that-could-kill-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/the-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-storage-room-artifacts-in-the-collection-that-could-kill-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Call is Coming from Inside\u00a0the\u00a0Storage\u00a0Room: Artifacts\u00a0in the Collection that Could Kill You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many\u00a0peculiar\u00a0artifacts\u00a0lurk\u00a0in\u00a0the National Building Museum\u2019s\u00a0permanent collection<\/a>, from\u00a0unidentifiable\u00a0tools\u00a0to\u00a0photographs of buildings on fire\u00a0and\u00a0drawings of imagined cities. While\u00a0they all\u00a0reveal\u00a0how buildings and cities were\u00a0historically\u00a0constructed, some oddities prove particularly interesting. These are the dangerous\u00a0ones, the ones that are banned\u2026 these are the Things in the Collection that Could Kill\u00a0You.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead Paint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Left: Black wooden stand with 57 wood or metal paint sample “chips.” (2017.4.001<\/a>); Middle: Dutch Boy informational pamphlet (2024.17.4<\/a>); Right: Can of Dutch Boy White Lead Paint (2024.17.2<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lead paint is one of the most famous now-banned construction materials.\u00a0Lead-based paints were popular in art and construction due to\u00a0their\u00a0density and opacity;\u00a0these paints\u00a0also\u00a0dried more quickly,\u00a0were\u00a0more durable, and\u00a0offered\u00a0better resistance\u00a0to\u00a0moisture.\u00a0By 1891, the National Lead Company\u00a0had\u00a0combined approximately\u00a0twenty-five\u00a0lead mining and smelting operations to become the leading producer of bulk refined white and red lead, along with lead oxides.\u00a0The\u00a0company\u00a0sold these products\u00a0almost exclusively\u00a0to foundries and paint manufacturers. Despite evidence of its toxicity, lead-based paints\u00a0were\u00a0sold in the United States until\u00a0a 1977\u00a0ban restricted its\u00a0use in residential properties, public buildings, toys, and furniture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Museum\u2019s collection has several examples of lead paint, including a\u00a0Devoe Lead and Zinc Paint display\u00a0stand that houses\u00a0fifty-seven\u00a0wood or metal paint samples.\u00a0Though the display stand\u00a0states\u00a0that this\u00a0paint\u00a0is \u201cMade for Painting Houses,\u201d\u00a0this is not\u00a0recommended. The Museum also has several artifacts from the\u00a0Dutch Boy White Lead Paint line, made by the National Lead Company. The most helpful piece in this small collection is the\u00a0paint calculator, a\u00a0brochure that details how to mix lead paint, how many coats are\u00a0required\u00a0for\u00a0best\u00a0coverage, and how much a gallon of each ingredient should cost. The most dangerous piece in this collection is the\u00a0one pound can of lead paste, which would have been used to mix lead-based paint. This can\u00a0has\u00a0never been opened and still holds white lead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saw<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Skilsaw 10″ Circular Saw 107 (2022.4.1<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This\u00a010″ circular saw\u00a0was originally designed in the 1970s and used to cut notches in roof beams for custom houses in California. However, this\u00a0powerful saw had few safety measures and was\u00a0deemed\u00a0so dangerous\u00a0that\u00a0it was outlawed by\u00a0the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)\u00a0soon after.\u00a0This saw in particular lacks a trigger that stops\u00a0its circular motion when it is released; the saw will keep going even without human input.\u00a0This could easily result in death, or at least heavy maiming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asbestos Tiles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Asbestos tiles, front and back (2024.9.1h and 2024.9.2v<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Asbestos\u00a0is a naturally\u00a0occurring, fibrous silica-based mineral that\u00a0has been used as a strengthening and fireproofing material for millennia.\u00a0It was\u00a0most\u00a0heavily mined in the\u00a0late\u00a01800s,\u00a0when it started to be used extensively for construction.\u00a0Being highly fire-resistant, as well as an excellent thermal and electrical insulator, it was\u00a0highly sought\u00a0after for residential and commercial building projects.\u00a0Asbestos was used in concrete, pipes, gaskets, insulation, ceiling tiles, drywall, flooring, roofing, and even lawn furniture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kentile\u00a0Floors produced floor tiles with an asbestos content of up to 25%. The tiles\u00a0contained\u00a0a combination of whole\u00a0and powdered\u00a0asbestos\u00a0fibers.\u00a0Kentile\u00a0flooring was popular because it was inexpensive and easy to install, even for a do-it-yourself homeowner. The asbestos made\u00a0the tiles\u00a0resistant to grease, stains, and scuff marks. Despite its desirability, it was a carcinogenic product, especially during manufacture, installation, and tear down.\u00a0While the\u00a0Museum\u2019s asbestos tiles\u00a0are mostly\u00a0in\u00a0good condition,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0important to note that broken or degrading asbestos tiles are\u00a0very dangerous\u00a0to handle or breathe\u00a0nearby.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jig Saw Junior<\/h3>\n\n\n
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BVI Jig Saw Jr. Toy Tool (2015.1.54<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Though the bright colors on this\u00a0BVI Jig Saw Jr.\u00a0toy tool invite\u00a0children\u00a0to play with it, it hides a dangerous truth:\u00a0there are no guardrails or guides to prevent the user from accidentally cutting through their fingers as easily as the saw cuts through its intended target of balsa wood.\u00a0In the 1950s and 1960s, it was marketed to older children as a \u201csafe, fun, constructive\u201d toy, but\u00a0this is no longer recommended.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cellulose Nitrate Negatives<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Light box displaying a nitrate photograph negative panorama suffering from deterioration.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the Museum\u2019s 300,000+ photograph collection, several types of photographic film\u00a0are\u00a0preserved.\u00a0One of the most unstable types of film is called cellulose nitrate. It was\u00a0most commonly used\u00a0between 1910 and 1950 and, when deteriorated, can appear yellowed, stained, sticky, brittle, or powdery depending on\u00a0the progression of\u00a0the deterioration. This deterioration is self-induced and does not\u00a0proceed\u00a0at an even or predictable rate across different examples of the same material.\u00a0As with all chemical deterioration, there are unwanted side\u00a0effects to this breakdown: irritation of\u00a0the lungs\u00a0and eyes,\u00a0rashes,\u00a0headaches,\u00a0and nausea. Finally, and most worryingly, deteriorated nitrate film is highly flammable, capable of self-combusting, and can continue to burn under water. Once started, a nitrate fire can be almost impossible to put out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the Museum\u2019s photography collections span the past 150 years of photography technology, it\u00a0certainly\u00a0holds\u00a0cellulose nitrate negatives. To reduce the chances of a deteriorating nitrate negative, photography collections storage has a consistently lower temperature than the rest of the museum. When these types of negatives are found and\u00a0identified, the Museum takes steps to reproduce the image on the negative in another format and then deaccession\u00a0and\u00a0dispose of the negative safely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experimentation with materials is a\u00a0key element of innovation and progress within the\u00a0ever-changing industry of\u00a0the\u00a0building\u00a0arts. Sometimes these new products are game changers for the field,\u00a0but often they result in mistakes and\u00a0missteps.\u00a0Stories of dangerous materials, and how the industry eventually shifted to safer alternatives, are an important part of the history of the built environment. But\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0worry about safety: the Museum\u2019s\u00a0collections\u00a0staff are specially trained to handle and preserve these materials without risk to themselves or the artifacts.\u00a0So\u00a0as you explore the world of building this spooky season, remember that every safe structure stands on lessons learned from a few deadly mistakes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many\u00a0peculiar\u00a0artifacts\u00a0lurk\u00a0in\u00a0the National Building Museum\u2019s\u00a0permanent collection, from\u00a0unidentifiable\u00a0tools\u00a0to\u00a0photographs of buildings on fire\u00a0and\u00a0drawings of imagined cities. While\u00a0they all\u00a0reveal\u00a0how buildings and cities were\u00a0historically\u00a0constructed, some oddities prove particularly interesting. These are the dangerous\u00a0ones, the ones…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":9047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[426],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9020"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9048,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9020\/revisions\/9048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbm.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}