Why did old cartoons often feature...?!
Question: Termites? I remember so many Tom and Jerry, Pink Panther, Looney Tunes, etc. shows with the termite gag. What's up with that? Was there more wood in structures and furniture back then? Does anyone else notice this?
Answers: Termites? I remember so many Tom and Jerry, Pink Panther, Looney Tunes, etc. shows with the termite gag. What's up with that? Was there more wood in structures and furniture back then? Does anyone else notice this?
Pressure Treatment for Lumber was only just invented in the late 1930’s http://www.howstuffworks.com/question278...
Most cartoons that you mention were made in the 1940s-1960s and made fun of people who didn't spring for the extra money of buying Lumber that had this "new" process, or that their "Log cabin" or home was built before pressure treated lumber became widely available.
Most houses today are still made of wood and wood plyboards. http://home.howstuffworks.com/house8.htm
They just have exterior bricks coverings, and interior drywalls. But inside forming the structural framework of the house are wood joints, struts and wood arches supporting the doors and rooftops.
It's good that the manufacturing of wood has become so cheap and sophisticated, otherwise those termites would be causing trouble again! LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klftYR_X7...
I just think it's funny to see a little tiny almost invisible cartoon dot or several tiny dots wreak so much havoc and trouble.
I love the classic gag where someone tries to kill the termite with a wooden-handle axe, and the handle gets eaten and the metal axe-head falls & bonks the person on the head!