Do you realize that the salt on our food may be millions of years old? Did you know that the rubber in condoms derives from tree sap? And aren't you glad that lipstick is no longer made of crushed ants and beetles? In this book James Innes-Smith takes us on an entertaining behind-the-scenes tour of how 30 household objects are made, from humble paper clips to surprisingly complex light bulbs, as well as items whose origins have always troubled us, namely glue, perfume, and hot dogs. Henrietta Webb's color cartoons depict each phase in these remarkable and often humorous transformations.