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GE's World War II Era "Copper Man" Gets His Due 61

Posted by samzenpus from the iron-upgrade-now-available dept.
An anonymous reader writes "GE's 'Copper Man' is a quarter-inch-thick, electroplated copper mannequin from the early '40s that the Army used to evaluate the thermal-insulating quality of protective clothing issued to B-17 and B-24 airmen. At the request of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC, the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine recently agreed to donate its oldest Copper Man for permanent display."
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GE's World War II Era "Copper Man" Gets His Due More

GE's World War II Era "Copper Man" Gets His Due

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  • Claude Cooper perhaps? And are they clean?

  • Electric blankets, anyone? (Score:5, Informative)

    by tibit ( 1762298 ) on Sunday August 21, 2011 @08:37PM (#37164072)

    Trivia: the copper man used to test and advertise heated electric blankets. The same ones whose failures cause an estimated 5000 fires each year in the U.K. The ones that were sold for more than a decade in the U.S. without adequate safety circuits [safetyresearch.net].

    • Re:Electric blankets, anyone? (Score:5, Funny)

      by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Sunday August 21, 2011 @09:02PM (#37164164) Journal
      Copper Man find human oxidation response pitiful. Human exhibit wasteful thrashing and screaming upon oxidation, offend bystanders with futile noises and charred remains.

      Copper Man resist oxidation. Maintain readiness for duty until tasteful patina develop. Then still ready for duty. Also art object.
      • Copper man may be more resilient, but meat man doesn't have "steal me" permanently tattooed on him.
        • Copper Man sympathize if maybe you particular Meat Man insufficiently hardworking/attractive for enslavement.

          Copper Man resist replacement since 1951. Copper Man probably still thermal-testing uniforms when Tuesday Soylent Green Day.
          • Copper Man sound very appealing.
            What best way proposition Copper Man? Meat Man has tin oxidation-preventing lacquer.
    • Next thing you know you're going to tell me that smoking is bad for my health, TV isn't good for children, and that marijuana may actually help glaucoma. Whatever. I know you snake oil salespeople when I see you.
  • That's where you got to!
  • I'm assuming that the copper was there to speed the spread of heat around the model's surface, more closely simulating a human with a circulatory system, and making it easier to see if you had a serious localized leak without hundreds of temperature test points; but does anybody know how the rest of the thing worked?

    Was it instrumented in some way(registering thermometers stuck to the surface in various places? thermocouples?) or was it heated, dressed, shoved in the freezer for a set period, and then me

  • Sure to Spark a Discussion (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Enough said.

    ++//--

  • and run a piece of coaxial cable from him to my shortwave radio

  • The article says it is worth $400 as scrap. Assuming all the value is in the copper, at $3/pound (based on what a local metal recycling center was paying during a recent visit), that means there's about 133 pounds of copper (61 kilos) in the Copper Man. The Copper Man has a thick skin.

    • The Copper Man has a thick skin.

      Of course he does... Otherwise he turns green when he cries.

    • The Copper Man has a thick skin.

      Of course he does: it says so in the first paragraph of article and it's the sixth word of TFS.

      "GE's 'Copper Man' is a quarter-inch-thick, electroplated copper mannequin from the early '40s that the Army used to evaluate the thermal-insulating quality of protective clothing issued to B-17 and B-24 airmen. At the request of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC, the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine recently agreed to donate its oldest Copper Man for permanent display."

  • Can you imagine if a copper thief got a hold of this? They would be set for life ;)

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Iron Man would catch them, subdue them with the Rubber Band Man.

    • TFA says he's worth $400 in scrap, a meth habit will burn through that pretty fast...

  • This is just a viral tease for an upcoming superhero movie, right?
  • ...in which the users of slashdot collaborate on an adaptation of Elton John's 'Rocket Man' to suit the occasion. High marks for recording it and posting the link. Extra credit for a Shatner-style rendition.

  • Dystopian buster (Score:3)

    by arisvega ( 1414195 ) on Monday August 22, 2011 @03:46AM (#37165530)
    So he is like buster, only older. And more steampunk.

  • Copper man looks more like Copper lady. Either that, or he's had his electrodes removed.

  • Imagine Doctor McCoy during one of his moments shouting at Mr. Spock, "Hey, Copper Man!".
    How long would it take before he finds out what it's like to experience--the death grip"?

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