I have heard that much of the crumbliness and impact fragility is due to calcium contaminants that were removed from the mainstream feedstocks for the "good" castings.
Yes, I remember those fragile cast-metal toys. More fragile than glass, in many cases.
Let's refine the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation a tad...
Gegen Dummheit kämpfen die Götter selbst vergebens.
That is slightly modernized German. I'm told that Schiller actually wrote:
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
Well, at least you are getting dates! ;-)
-- Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell Central Florida
There are plenty of urban legends about "monkey metal".
One possibility: if the metal had a lot of Tin in it, reallyt bad things can happen.
Tin has a phase-change at around 40 degrees F IIRC (and I probably dont). It changes crystalline structure, which can result in major expansion, warping, and disintegration.
Not a problem as long as you keep your old toys and radios in the house, but a problem if the radio ended up in the attic or shed.
Damn! I thought that The Good Doctor had made that up!
Thanks, Rich
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