Earthquake Wallpaper – for when Your World is Falling Down around You

[Are_grits_groceries]

<snip>
Luckily, German researchers have recently developed what they are calling, “seismic” wallpaper. This specially reinforced paper boasts the ability to  hold  masonry walls together and keep them from breaking, falling or crumbling when subjected to an earthquake. That could certainly make you feel safer, am I right?

Scientists at the Bayer MaterialScience used special stiff, high-strength glass fibers and wove them together to form a strong and flexible wall covering. The material has these fibers running throughout the “fabric” in four different directions, this allows the energy created by an earthquake  to distribute evenly and protect against damage. 

The wallpaper is simply adhered to walls using a flexible, soft adhesive (called Dispercoll) made from water and a large amount of polyurethane beads. As the water evaporates, the special beads stick the paper to the walls. In essence producing a safety barrier between you, and a crumbling building.

The wallpaper has been tested in a replica house in an earthquake simulator, and because of this “paper” scientists were unable to cause the house to collapse at all. They also used a hydraulic press to crush a treated and untreated wall. The results were remarkable.Well over a billion people currently live in earthquake zones… There are a tremendous number of people that could be made safer, thanks to this new wallpaper.
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http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20120405/eartquake-wallpaper-world-falling/

This could really help!

[goclark]

1. Checking in from Los Angeles

Sounds good to me ~ they say we have a big Earthquake about every ten years.

Last big one that I remember was about 11 years ago.

[Ecumenist]

3. Hey GoClark, how long have you lived in LA? I'm from LA, BTW...

Born and bred...almost. finished school in the north state.

[goclark]

6. Since 1956

lived in View Park

[Ecumenist]

7. I lived in ...wait for it..COMPTON not the LA end down near Paramount, right over the free way it

and LONG beach and Carson weren't too far either. I was so used to feeling constant what I called, "Minis", felt like a big truck going down the street. Quakes don't frighten me. Tornados and hurricanes on the other hands, scare the crap out of me.

[kestrel91316]

4. The last big one in SoCal was Northridge. We've had some mediums.

[FourScore]

2. Damn! Those Germans are smart! n/t

[Uncle Joe]

5. This sounds promising.

Thanks for the thread, grits.

[Flying Squirrel]

8. Thanks to oil company drilling, we might be needing a lot of that.

[link]http://www.democraticunderground.com/101623272/[/link]