Editor’s note: Following is Keith Moody’s answer to the conundrum presented in “Al’s Arrested Alkyd Development” in the December 2019 issue of PCI.
Al Kidd told Polly Mertz a story about developing an alkyd coating resin 35 years earlier that matched the performance of a linseed oil alkyd but used a different drying oil. After overseeing the production of the resin in the plant, Al went directly home, where his wife demanded that he take off his clothes before coming into their apartment. Why did Al’s wife, without even looking at Al, insist that he remove his clothes in the hallway?