Anyone familiar with old movies is familiar with one sight: the asbestos curtain in theaters, slowly lowered over the stage. Asbestos used to be the country's miracle material, the chief product in fire blankets, insulation, and anything that needed to be protected from fires. However, the miracle material turned quickly into a nightmare.

We're all familiar with reels as tools, whether we're talking about fishing reels, hose reels for fire fighting, or demo reels in the world of filmmaking or video art. But one use of the word "reel" that many of us have forgotten about is the tradition of the reel in dancing--one of the four basic dances of the mysterious highlands of Scotland.

Comic books: one of the few great American art forms, known worldwide as mental rot and poison. But a few comics have attempted to rise above their low image by providing valuable public services. In particular, there's the NFPA's line of fire protection comics for kids.

A fire extinguisher: for most of us, nothing but a standard piece of safety equipment, tied to the wall with extinguisher brackets and sealed in an extinguisher box. But for the early filmmakers of a largely pre-narrative Hollywood, a fire extinguisher of the classic pre-pressurized type was just another means of struggling to develop a common language of film.

Symbols: from fire extinguisher signs to airline diagrams, they're becoming a more and more common sight in our world. Some people consider the proliferation of the symbol to be a sign of declining literacy rates worldwide, and with them the decline of civilization in general. But the rise of the symbol is by no means bad--and by no means new.

Fire buckets--one of the great innovations of fire suppression technology, and one that today is largely obsolete. Foam extinguishers and other more modern means of fighting oil fires have become the standard, and the quaint red buckets of sand from yesteryear have become for the most part a thing of the past. But one artist is fighting to ensure that the past remains remarkably present.

A stainless steel extinguisher: a classy piece of decor. A vital tool for fighting large, dangerous fires. And, in some urban areas--a controversial art supply.

Extinguisher stands were hardly a standard safety option during the all-too-brief career of William McGonagall, the Dundee man commonly known even today as the "Worst Poet In The World." But McGonagall--the poetic chronicler of the Tay Bridge Disaster--would have been the first to applaud the invention, though it surely would have spelled the end of his career.

Fire blankets, we all know, are a crucial component of fire safety practices. So it's a brutal irony that unknown attackers in Corona, California in 2007 gave the phrase an entirely new and horrible meaning by setting fire to the sheets of a homeless couple. Why does this happen in American society?

In the United States, people tend to take one thing for granted: fire exit signs are always red. But around the world, that simply isn't true--in fact, in many countries, making an emergency sign red would mean that it's illegal to rescue yourself in the event of an emergency! In this article, we talk a little bit about the strange variations in emergency signage around the world.

Early detection of Mesothelioma cancer substantiated by clear information of patient's exposure to asbestos can help define the course of treatment

Convert your PDA into a mobile televisions set by downloading or transferring form your PC your favorite full length films, television programs, film trailers, music videos, and more

The Internet has come a long way and one of its biggest contributions to business worldwide has been in online retail. Contacts are a popular item to purchase online and a discounted contact lens is what you expect when you buy online