Show e Need More Care CareIn f In Blackout Blackouts Early Tests T Show Window Coverings Too Easily Penetrated by Light NEW YORK Preliminary Preliminary blac blackouts black black- outs have shown that many people make one of the commonest of mh mis- takes They forgot that black cloth is is nc not necessarily opaque In spite of carEfully carefully carefully care care- fully covered windows the liglI light ligli I shone through the sheer material o c oj or j the loose woven material like a be bea bea- icon con In England these thes careless black black- outs louts in the early part of the wa war brought an air raid wardens warden's wrath down on the innocent culprit Trial and error has proved tha that one of the most effective blackout blackouts is accomplished by lining the heavy drapes with black block material and pulling pulling pulling pull pull- ing them to an overlapping at th the center of the window Sliding Drapes Show Light However even this had its headaches headaches headaches head head- aches according to the air rail raid wardens It seems that American Americans make a practice of hanging their drapes slightly free from the windows windows windows win win- dows and in most cases this mean means meana a rim of light all around the heavy curtaining that is as telltale as ai an open window with the shade flapping in the breeze Close fitting valance across across' the top take care of that little matter very nicely Incidentally those drapes tha that slide along on an extra curtain roc rod are no good They show light Where blackouts have been practiced practiced tided frequently in in San Francisco Los Angeles and in Seattle some Seattle some of the homes have a definitely changed look This is because al all transoms and pretty little colored colored- glass ornamentation beside th the the doors have been blacked out per per- Those tricky little odd odd- shap shaped d pieces of glass were too hard hare to mask successfully so in many i cases they have been permanently permanent covered with heavy curtaining 01 or have been painted with black painton paint on both sides to achieve the desired j effect Britain Finds Way Yay Luckily few homes have skylights skylights sky sky- lights because these windows in the r. r roof are a perfect beacon During the early stages of the war the British had a good deal of ol trouble with their skylights Observation Observation Observation planes soon spotted the offending offending of of- fending homes and warnings were issued to paint the glass on both sides Britain finally solved the problem of blackout windows with permanent cover-all cover wooden frames that thai screwed into the wooden window frame on each side In case of ol bombing it gives added protection against flying glass The blackout frames have an added advantage in that most of them contain a covered l slot for ventilation i Apparently the thing N New ew Yorkers fear most is a shutdown of electric electric- ity Stores are practically sold out of flashlights Some of the big shops selling electrical equipment are displaying displaying displaying dis dis- playing signs which suggest gently gently gent gent- ly of course that the buyer look over the old flashlight at home to toI I see see whether it cannot be fixed up good as new by the purchase of a bulb or new batteries Heavy blackout materials have been whisked from the counters almost almost al al- most as fast as they appeared and ready to use blackout curtains are i practically sold out tJ |