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Bear's-grease was the fat of bears, formerly esteemed as of great efficacy in nourishing and promoting the growth of hair during the Victorian era. The ungents sold under this name, however, were in a great measure made of pig's lard or veal fat, or a mixture of both, scented and slightly coloured.
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Bird-lime is a viscous substance used for entangling birds so as to make them easily caught, twigs being for this purpose smeared with it at places where birds resort. It is prepared from holly-bark, being extracted by boiling; also - mainly in Italy - from the viscid berries of the mistletoe.
Bird-lime was traditionally prepared from holly-bark which was boiled for between ten and twelve hours, where upon the green bark becoming seperated from the rest, it was covered over and left in a moist place for two weeks and then pounded into a rough paste so that no woody fibres were discernable, and then washed in ruunning water. After washing the holly-bark bird-line was left to ferment for four or five days, being regularly skimmed to remove any surface waste, and was then ready for use. Before use, two parts of holly-bark bird lime were mixed with one part nut-oil or grease, and mixed together while being warmed over a fire.
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John Travolta is an American actor, film producer and writer. He was born in 1954 at Englewood, New Jersey. He first came to prominence starring as 'Tony Manero' in the 1977 film 'Saturday Night Fever' before again starring in the 1978 musical 'Grease'.
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Richard Gere is an American actor. He was born in 1949 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Leaving college in 1969 to pursue a career in acting, he landed a leading role in the 1973 London stage performance of 'Grease', followed by various stage roles the next year before he gained recognition in the 1977 film 'Looking for Mr Goodbar', and in 1980 became an international star playing the lead role in 'American Gigolo'.
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Antonia Franceschi is an American dancer and actress. She was born in 1960 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Primarily a ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet, she has also appeared as a dancer in several films including 'Grease' and 'Fame'.
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Olivia Newton-John is an English actress, singer, composer and film producer. She was born in 1948 at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. She is best known for playing the joint lead in the 1978 film musical 'Grease'.
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Samantha Janus is an English actress and singer. She was born in 1972 at Brighton, Sussex. Educated at the Sylvia Young Theatre school she had several small television parts before representing the United Kingdom in the 1991 Eurovision song contest and landing a starring role in London's West End on stage playing 'Sandy' in the musical 'Grease' in 1993. Among many other roles she played the part of 'Nicola' in the 1990s television series 'Pie In The Sky' and 'Ronnie' in the BBC soap-opera 'Eastenders'.
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Stockard Channing is an American actress. She was born in 1944 at New York. She is best known for her role as Rizzo in the 1978 film Grease.
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Alum is a crystalline, astringent substance with a sweetish taste. It is a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium with water of crystallization. It crystallizes in colourless regular octahedra. Its solution reddens vegetable blues. When heated, its water of crystallization is driven off, and it becomes light and spongy with slightly corrosive properties, and is used as a caustic under the name of burnt alum.
Alum is prepared in Great Britain at Whitby from alum-slate, where it forms the cliffs for miles, and at Hurlet and Campsie, near Glasgow, from bituminous alum shale and slate-clay, obtained from old coal-pits. It is also prepared near Rome from alum stone. Common alum is strictly potash alum; other two varieties are soda alum and ammonia alum, both similar in properties. Iron alum (pale mauve) and chrome alum (deep purple) are compounds containing iron and chromium in place of aluminium.
Alum is employed to harden tallow, to remove grease from printers' cushions and blocks in calico manufactories; in dyeing as a mordant. It is also largely used in the composition of crayons, in tannery, and in medicine (as an astringent and styptic). Wood and paper are dipped in a solution of alum to render them less combustible.
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Ammonia water was a toxic, aqueous solution of ammonia formerly used in hair dressing during the bleaching process. Ammonia water was added to hydrogen peroxide solution to act as a catalyst, neutralise traces of acid in the solution, and to remove grease from the surface of the hair which could interfere with the bleaching action of the hydrogen peroxide.
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The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
©1993 - 2009 The Probert Encyclopaedia
Southampton, United Kingdom
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