Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hope that St Nicholas soon would be there.
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Many of us will be halfway through our advent calendars by now. Don’t worry though, this isn’t where we tell you the chocolate is made from polyurethane. Rather, the moulds used to shape and store the chocolates are made from polycarbonate. Typically, low molecular weight polycarbonate is used which is durable and flexible enough to pass its shape onto the chocolate, but also allow you to free the chocolate from its casing to enjoy each day.
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With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
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The impending end of our advent calendars can then mean only one thing – Santa’s visit. With all of the families that Santa visits on Christmas Eve, he surely relies heavily on polyurethane to aid him in the vast distances and climes he will travel through. To reduce friction and make the journey a little easier on his reindeer, his sleigh will most likely be coated in polyurethane. To keep him warm, both at the North Pole and while he’s flying through the night skies, he probably wears boots made from polyurethane incorporated into the shoe’s upper. The hard thermoplastic polyurethane in the soles of his boots are also probably really useful when he needs to clamber over snowy and slippery roofs. And just to be safe, we suggest that he takes an umbrella coated in waterproofing polyurethane in case it’s raining out!
Not all of us, especially those in the Southern Hemisphere, are lucky enough to celebrate a white Christmas. With the help of chemistry though, we can guarantee snow for all this Christmas, not necessarily falling from the sky however. As a more permanent solution, porous polyurethane foam is often coated on artificial Christmas trees to mimic a snow-clad forest tree. Alternatively, a more hands-on snow can be made at home using sodium polyacrylate, a very absorbent polymer, which, when mixed with water, expands in size by many orders of magnitude, and, due to the endothermic nature of water uptake, becomes cold.
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He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
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There is nothing more magical than waking up to a Christmas tree twinkling with lights, sparkling with baubles, and festively surrounded by gifts, a sight that would be lacking, if not for various forms of polyurethane and polycarbonate. Artificial Christmas trees, in combination with polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene fir leaves, comprise a polyurethane foam-based trunk. The decorations and baubles that adorn our trees are typically coated with polyurethane for longevity and shininess, while the lights that trim the tree are encased in a polycarbonate shell. Polyurethane is also prevalent in the gifts under the tree – from the flexible polyurethane foam that protects our packaged gifts, to the rigid polyurethane plastic that makes up our gifts.
At the end of the festivities, rest assured that you can relax in the comfort of your polyurethane foam couch cushions and memory foam mattress, while listening to Christmas songs or watching films on polycarbonate CDs and DVDs. (Polymeric) perfection.
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He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!
– Clement Clarke Moore
Happy holidays from the Econic team!