Reub's journey

12 May 2010

Hair mats and nylons

We get 3 newspapers and this past week all of them had stories about the use of pet hair to make hair mats for cleaning the oil spill on the gulf coast; when I read this I thought "Wow, what a great new idea!" It turns out that the idea has been around since just after the Exxon spill in Valdez in 1989. That's when hair stylist Phil McCrory from Alabama noticed photos of sea otters covered in oil showed clear water around them; he correctly concluded that the animal's hair had absorbed the oil and cleaned the water. He designed a hair mat which has been used in oil spills ever since and has spawned a non-profit called Matter of Trust in San Francisco. This organization collects donated pet fur clippings, human hair clippings, and nylon stockings from all over the world to make the re-usable "hair boom" written about last week.


Three weeks ago, just a few days before the oil spill, we clipped Eddy's coat.



It was a fairly long procedure made awkward by the fact that we don't have a grooming table. Ed sat on the kitchen counter while we worked on him. I bet we got close to a pound of clippings off of him. Too bad we didn't know about Matter of Trust, because a pound of hair is enough to make one hair mat, which can be wrung out and used dozens of times. Eddy could have helped clean up that awful oil spill.

We don't have any nylon stockings to donate either, but actually, come to think of it, who does? I know dozens of people with hairy dogs, but I can't think of anybody who wears nylons. How odd.

12 comments:

  1. with a blog title like that no wonder nobody wants to comment...kerry you should've named it something slightly more appealing than "hair mats and nylons" almost anything would be better than that

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  2. I haven't worn nylons in forever, but I see women wearing them every day down by the Capitol or around the White House.

    Wouldn't it be something if this turned out to be the solution to the heartbreaking situation of the oil spill. Wow.

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  3. What an interesting story. I had not heard about that until now. Ed looks so cute up on that counter top. Very well behaved and calm.

    I am one of those crazy people who still wear nylons. I love the different styles and colors and they make me feel much sexier than my plain old legs. Haha.

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  4. I keep forgetting to tell you how much I love your new header. There is just something about an old typewriter that is very appealing.

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  5. How interesting, my little shedder gives me pounds of hair, but I have no nylons either.

    Love to have you link this to
    Midweek Blues to get the word out, plus it has blue...and who isn't very blue about the oil spill.

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  6. I should say that the photo with the lovely blue gloves is not mine and I haven't been able to find the source in order to credit it. But I linked this to Midweek Blues anyway.

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  7. Very interesting post. I have heard about this. I read another article today about a hair salon that is using all the hair clippings to make hair mats for the oil spill. Love the blue gloved lady...

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  8. We use the kitchen table for clipping our schnauzer, but we put a piece of plywood on first to protect it.

    We also have a blue heeler who is never clipped but sheds enough in the spring to clean up quite a lot of oil.

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  9. I had no idea.

    Eddy looks like the sweetest dog ever!

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  10. interesting way to sop up the oil. they should put an add out to get hair sent to them.

    I haven't worn nylons is a while either. no reason as of late...... :-(

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  11. No that I like any more spills, but may be you will want to store up hair, just in case.

    The hair dressing should get a medal for designing such a great product.

    I don't wear nylons either. I wear long pants or long skirts with socks.

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  12. good on you to support Jessica this way. I am sure she appreciated it.

    When I ran the quarter marathon, seeing groups along the way, gives a boost.

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