BOB FULTON'S AMAZING SODA-POP STRETCHER

The author of Matthew Looney's Voyage to the Earth (1961, p. 261, J-115) has written another book in which he sets up an illogical, unrealistic order in the world-- an order which the reader must willingly accept if he is to enjoy the silly story. The Fultons live in Barnstable on Cape Cod, where sea-sick prone Mr. Fulton runs a ferry. One day, while puttering around in the garage--his laboratory--, young Bob Fulton invents a soda-pop stretcher which can produce large quantities of pop from one bottle plus an assortment of strange ingredients. When his machine explodes, Bob accidentally discovers that frictionless bearings can be made from this formula Bob's discovery hastens the advent of space travel, but although children no longer have to pedal their bikes, men no longer have to wind watches, etc., people soon realize they cannot stand the strain of the sugar ration (necessary because the formula requires astronomical amounts of sugar) and Bob realizes the world is not yet ready for frictionless bearings. The story is perhaps too long for what it attempts and it is not written in a very lively style, but readers who like this type of comic fantasy may appreciate Bob and his struggles. In free line drawings, the artist has presented an appropriate interpretation of the text.