| Business idea / Problem to solve | Answer |
| 1. What free’ ingredient to add to cheap gasoline to make it anti-knock. | 1. A little spray of water carburreted into the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine will dampen the ping nearly as well as tetra-ethyl lead (ethyl). |
| 2. What plant keeps mosquitos from bothering you? Where to get seed. | 2. The castor bean plant. Seeds available from any nursery. Plant in pots within the house: replant outdoors. Decorative and they grow like weeds! |
| 3. A low cost non-rust anti-freeze that is safe at 60 below zero Fah. | 3. Old motor oil thinned with Kerosene. |
| 4. Remove coffee & tea stains from silk & wool with this common material. | 4. Glycerine or Ethylene Glycol (Prestone) OR Diethylene Glycol. |
| 5. An excellent tooth powder. Make from three common ingredients. | 5. Equal parts table salt, borax and baking soda. Ask your dentist. |
| 6. How to break a dog from chasing cars. | 6. Attach a stick to the dog’s collar to strike at his knees when he runs. |
| 7. How to remove water marks from polished table tops. Pack & sell for $$! | 7. Dissolve paraffin shavings in olive or cooking oil. Rub one way only. |
| 8. How G-men develop fingerprints. You can easily do the same. | 8. Place a small wad of cotton, saturated with tincture of iodine in a glass tube, blow against suspected fingerprints and they will appear. |
| 9. A highly effective yet inexpensive way to burn out carbon in a motor. | 9. Disconnect windshield wiper tube from intake manifold. Substitute another tube leading to a container of hydrogen peroxide. Allow this to be drawn into idling motor. Excess oxygen will burn out the carbon deposits. |
| 10. How to remove rust stains from fabrics, etc. 2 highly-effective formulas. | 10. Equal parts of double nickel salts and salammonaic dissolved in water. Heat to near boiling and immerse the metal to be nickeled, with a scrap of aluminum or aluminum foil touching it. Rinse well in clear water. |
| 11. How to remove chewing gum from rugs, clothing, auto seats, etc. | 11. Turpentine is most effective. Next, benzine or other hydrofluoric acid. RINSE! |
| 12. Fresh flowers may be preserved indefinitely if dipped in what? | 12. Collodion, thinned with ether or keep stems in vase of powdered silica gel. |
| 13. A wonderful cleaning cloth is made by soaking in what solution? | 13. Ounce of oxalic acid in gallon of water. Wring and dry the cloths. |
| 14. Keep grass from growing near walks where lawn mower can’t be used. | 14. Saturate the strip with used motor oil. NOT new oil! |
| 15. How to make steel and iron tools rust-proof. Two formulas. | 15. Boil in a solution of ferric phosphate or (better) benzoate of soda. |
| 16. How to nickel-plate metal without electricity. | 16. Equal parts of double nickel salts and sal ammonaic dissolved in water. Heat. |
| 17. How to make a good mimeograph ink for about 30 cents a pound. | 17. Thin common printer’s ink with kerosene, to desired consistency. |
| 18. Liquid fire - red, green, yellow, etc. - what to mix. | 18. Methanol (denatured alcohol) costs less than 65cents a gallon. To make a dip or spray for fireplace logs, add about 1/4 teaspoonful strontium nitrate for RED fire; barium nitrate for brilliant GREEN flames; common table salt for YELLOW; copper sulfate (blue vitriol) for BLUE flames; copper sulfide for PURPLE flames. |
| 19. Candles burn twice as long after simple treatment - how? | 19. Dip candles in liquid shellac. The candle wax will burn, not drip. |
| 20. Camp stove that you can carry in your pocket. Easily and cheaply made. | 20. Fill a can with sand, which saturate with gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, etc. |
| 21. Mosquitos won’t bit if you use this lotion. Two formulas. | 21. 4 parts glycerine, 4 parts alcohol, 1 part eucalyptus oil. OR make a solution of equal parts of isopropyl alcohol and methyl phthalate. |
| 22. Appendicitis attack. A supremely effective first-aid treatment. | 22. NEVER give a laxative. Assist victim to stand on head until doctor comes. |
| 23. A common substance added to any ink makes it water repellent. | 23. Add to ink a bit of common glue and allow to dissolve completely. |
| 24. A few drops of (?) will deodorize gasoline for cleaning purposes. | 24. Add about 20 drops of sassafras oil to a gallon of gasoline or solvent. |
| 25. A drinker will dislike the taste of alcohol, often for life, if a little (?) is added to a bottle of his whiskey or other liquor. | 25. A few drops of tincture of ipecac (a word which is sometimes known as ipecacuanha). Consult your pharmacist. |
| 26. How to have a green lawn all winter. | 26. In the autumn, scatter Italian rye (or equivalent) grass on the lawn. |
| 27. Stagnant water made safe to drink in an emergency by adding (?). | 27. To a quart of water add about 10 drops tincture of iodine. Let stand. |
| 28. Effective beauty clay may be made from 2 ingredients. Two formulas. | 28. 5 tap Fullers’ Earth & 3 tsp. lemon juice OR bentonite (clay) & water. |
| 29. A dentist’s treatment for pyorrhea. Get it at your grocers. | 29. Chlorine laundry bleach, daily applied with toothpick & cotton swab. |
| 30. What simple drugstore chemical makes glass sparkle after cleaning? | 30. Carbon tetrachloride, retailed in drug stores as Carbona. |
| 31. Keep fleas off dogs and cats by adding (?) to their diets. | 31. A little sage. Obtainable in any grocery store in seasonings department. |
| 32. Pour in a little common (?) to open most sinks and drains. | 32. Pour in a little kerosene. Let stand overnight. Results not immediate. |
| 33. Fruits and flowers often grow much larger when (7) is added to the soil. | 33. A little iron sulfate (green copperas) in watering fluid. Infrequently. |
| 34. To make fabrics and labels adhere to metal - use (?). | 34. Add a little glycerine or Prestone to the glue or moistening water. |
| 35. Easily-made transparent paint for glass - any color. | 35. Mix water colors with sodium silicate solution (water glass). |
| 36. Remove mildew from fabrics, leather, etc., with what common substance. | 36. Any chlorine bleach; dilute sodium hyposulfite, CLOROX,’ ‘ PUREX,’ etc. |
| 37. Warts removed with what water-soluble solutions? Two formulas. | 37. Dilute nitric acid; OR salicylic acid (in oil), applied with toothpick. |
| 38. Cream and canned milk whip better if a few drips of (?) are added. | 38. Pure glycerine OR polyethylene glycol. NOT mono or diotthylene glycols! |
| 39. Two fluids, mixed, make a better dry cleaner than either one used alone. | 39. Carbon tetrachloride 3 parts; cloaners naptha 2 parts. INFLAMMABLE. |
| 40. Two simple cheap ingredients make a fly-spray equal to the very best. | 40. Pyrethrum, dissolved in kerosene. Used in practically all fly-sprays. |
| 41. Rust remover for articles made of iron. Three formulas. | 41. Soak overnight in a saturated solution of tim chloride or in a 10% solution of citric acid or di-ammonium citrate or hydrofluoric acid. |
| 42. Kerosene may be deodorized by adding what? | 42. About 1% amyl acetate (frequently known as Banana Oil). |
| 43. How to soften hard-dried paint brushes or remove paint from glass. | 43. Soak overnight in vinegar or amyl acetate or (better) in a paste made of 1 part of oleic acid dissolved in 6 parts of kerosene; and to which later add 4 parts of common household ammonia. |
| 44. How to remove a lodged bullet from a gun without injury to the rifle. | 44. Pour some mercury into barrel of the gun. It will dissolve the bullet. |
| 45. How to oil a flag pole or clothes-line pulley without taking it down. | 45. Tie an oil-soaked rag or sponge to the rope. Draw it thru pulley. |
| 46. How to sober a drunk person in a few minutes. | 46. A glass of water containing 30 drops of aromatic spirits of ammonia. |
| 47. How to make a small hole thru glass without using a drill. | 47. Press on glass a small lump of putty or clay; press a hole in the putty the size of hole wanted. Pour molten solder in hole to melt hole in glass. |
| 48. One cheap grocery store material plus water removes calluses from feet. | 48. Soak feet in warm water and soda ash (sodium carbonate) solution. Rinse. |
| 49. Auto radiator leaks, etc., can often be sealed with (?) cheap material. | 49. A little water glass (sodium silicate solution) in the water. |
| 50. Snow-white, long-lasting waterproof stucco paint easily & cheaply made. | 50. Put 15 gallons of water in a 30 gallons (or larger) open-top barrel. Slowly add unslaked lime until it boils. Slowly stir in hydrated lime, to bring the total mass (which is now paint) to a volume of 20 to 30 gallons. This is a good product - and cheap. |
| 51. Make glue waterproof by adding just a trace of (?). | 51. Add about 1/8 teaspoonful potassium bichromatic to a pint of glue. |
| 52. This common substance prevents pain and swelling of bee or wasp stings. | 52. Kerosene, that’s all! |
| 53. How to kill ants in their holes. Inexpensive and not poisonous. | 53. Pour any volatile hydrocarbon into the ant hills. Carbon disulfide is best; but even gasoline may be used. The treatment is made effective by COVERING the ant hills with plastic bags or sheet or wet clay, etc. |
| 54. Luminous ink glows in the dark. Two simple ingredients. | 54. 1/2 ounce oil of cinnamon; 1/8 ounce phosphorus. Cork tightly and heat in double boiler until melted. The material is INFLAMMABLE! |
| 55. How to treat paint, varnish, so insects will avoid the surfaces. | 55. Add 1/2 teaspoonful citronella oil to each gallon of paint or varnish. |
| 56. Spectacles, windshields, etc., will not fog if cleaned with a solution (?). | 56. Laundry soap shavings, boiled in water with some glycerine added. |
| 57. How to make a cheap ink that will write on glass or bright metal. | 57. 5 parts India ink to 1 part of water glass (sodium silicate solution). |
| 58. How to remove iodine stains. | 58. One part sodium hyposulphite (hypo) in two parts water. |
| 59. Cast iron may be soldered readily if first coated with (?). | 59. A water solution of copper sulfate (blue chloride). |
| 60. Keep flies off cattle with a solution made with what common weed (?). | 60. Boil catnip in water 20 minutes; strain and spray on cattle, horses. |
| 61. How to solder glass to glass. Formula. | 61. 95 parts tin and 5 parts zinc melted together makes this solder. |
| 62. How to make white-wash solution more durable. | 62. Add about 20% common salt (sodium chloride). |
| 63. What to use to fill cracks in wooden flooring. | 63. Make a paste tim and 5 parts zinc melted together makes this solder. |
| 64. How to temper steel tools to a hard cutting edge. | 64. Heat to cherry red. Force into bar of soap then plunge into cold water. |
| 65. Potted plants will grow more vigorously if (?) is added to the soil. | 65. Mix 1 part potassium nitrate, 1 part sugar, 2 parts ammonium sulfate. Add to the water used in watering potted plants for vigorous growth. |
| 66. How to remove oil stains from floors. | 66. Nothing is more effective than tri-sodium phosphate (TSP). |
| 67. How to remove Shine or gloss from clothing. | 67. Press the fabric on the wrong side, using a cloth wrung out of witch-hazel extract instead of water as a pressing cloth. |
| 68. Where to get a free book listing all magazines and newspapers with their advertising rates and circulations. | 68. Baker Advertising Agency, 189 West Madison Avenue, Chicago 2, Illinois. |
| 69. A chemical spray dandelion eradicator - harmless to grass. | 69. One pound iron (ferrous) sulfate to gallon of water sprays 400 square feet. |
| 70. A cheap non-poisonous mice repellent. | 70. Scatter mint leaves around articles to be protected from mice. |
| 71. Invisible secret ink. Write between lines; turns brown when heated. | 71. One ounce of ammonium chloride to a pint of water; 2 drops detergent. |
| 72. Penetrating oil, like Liquid Wrench, frees rusted screws and bolts. | 72. Methylene chloride 1 part, light mineral oil 1 part , kerosene 3 parts. |
| 73. Brushless Shaving Cream, Excellent ? Two ingredients plus water. | 73. Light mineral oil (cosmetic grade) 10 pounds. Melt with 10 pound glycesterin. |
| 74. Piney room-deodorant spray or Air wick. Ounce, plus water, makes pint. | 74. Pine needle oil 1 ounce; Isopropyl alcohol about a pint. Mix an ounce of this with a pint of water to make a very good spray-deodorant. |
| 75. Dip ordinary paper in (?) cheap liquid, to make Glassine paper. | 75. Gum copal 10 parts, Methanol 30 parts, castor oil 1 part. Let stand over night in covered vessel; then stir. Apply to paper to make glassine. |
| 76. Just one very cheap grocery store material, taken at bedtime after a heavy drinking bout, greatly lessens or completely avoids hangover. | 76. Doctors of Medicine generally agree that hangover from excessive drinking is due to loss of water in the system. Common table salt will usually make the body retain rather than void water. One to two teaspoonfuls at bedtime will do much to avoid hangover and/or getting up at night. CAUTION: Heart patients, consult your doctor and 2) do NOT dissolve the salt in water: just put it in your mouth and immediately gulp down a glass of plain water to wash it down -- otherwise the salt could induce nausea. |
| 77. Prostate gland sufferers can often avoid getting up at night by taking this simple non-prescription grocery store material at bedtime. Approved by M.D.. and completely harmless EXCEPT (possibly) to heart patients. | 77. See #76 (directly above). |
| 78. Plastic tooth-cavity filler. Temporary, of course - but often lasts months, or until the user has time to visit his dentist. Sell $$$! | 78. One part powdered amber, two parts Mastic gum. Make paste with ether. |
