Monday, June 21, 2010

Elvis was a Chemical Engineer

In the movie Clambake, Elvis Presley played a wealthy chemical engineer who is the son of a wealthy oil baron.  As part of the plot, Elvis develops a new varnish that helps him win a boat race and impress the girl.  According to the book ReAction!: Chemistry in the Movies by Griep and Mikasen, the varnish, called GOOP in the movie, is based on a real varnish that dissolves in water.

Sadly, movie this appears to be one of Elvis's poorer efforts.  Its main sin is that the songs are forgettable; after all, one doesn't watch an Elvis movie for the plot.

4 comments:

  1. Skip Elvis, Cindy Crawford was a chemical engineer - or at least she studied it for a quarter (some small school in the Midwest called Northwestern - ever heard of it?)

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  2. Yes, this was a well-known story when I was at NU. One ChE professor remarked, that if he'd have to give her career advice, he would have advised her to take the modeling job, as she could always come back if the modeling didn't work out.

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  3. Thanks for reading ReAction!. You may also be amused to know of other movies featuring a chemical engineer character. Check out: 1) Romy and Michele's High School Reunion to learn the chemistry of sticky notes; 2) October Sky to learn how an interest in rockets led to a career as a chemical engineer; and 3) The Great Escape to learn how Steve McQueen transformed potatoes into alcohol.

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  4. Thanks for stopping by, Mark. Romy & Michele may make an appearance here soon, as IMDb cites them as one of 5 movies that use the word "viscosity."

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