F. J. Schlink
Encyclopedia
Frederick J. Schlink was an American consumer rights activist. He co-wrote the book 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs
with Arthur Kallet
, and co-founded the watchdog group
Consumers Research
.
, Illinois
, and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1912. In 1914, he acquired the degree of Mechanical Engineer, and worked at the United States Bureau of Standards until 1919. After work in quality control for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
, and for the Bell Telephone Laboratories, he became an assistant secretary for the non-profit American Standards Association.
In 1927, Schlink was co-author, with Stuart Chase
, of the bestseller, Your Money's Worth, a warning about sales pressure and misleading advertising. The book called attention to the "Consumers' Club", a small organization in White Plains, New York
. Within two years, the club had members nationwide and was incorporated as Consumers' Research Arthur Kallet, the secretary of the group, enlisted Schlink's aid as co-author of One Hundred Million Guinea Pigs in 1933. (That was the population of the United States at the time.) The book caused a stir, noting that some well-advertised products (including mouthwash and hair dyes) were sometimes useless and even dangerous. His final book was Eat, Drink and be Wary in 1935. Schlink himself lived for sixty years after the book's publication and died at the age of 103.
100,000,000 Guinea Pigs
100,000,000 Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics is a book written by Arthur Kallet and F.J. Schlink first released in 1933 by the Vanguard Press and manufactured in the United States of America...
with Arthur Kallet
Arthur Kallet
Arthur Kallet was a leading consumer advocate.An engineer, Kallet co-authored a 1933 book entitled 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics with fellow engineer Frederick Schlink.In 1936 he left as director of Consumers Research after its head F.J...
, and co-founded the watchdog group
Consumers Research
Consumers Research
Consumers' Research is a defunct non-profit organization established in 1929 by Stuart Chase and F.J. Schlink , after the success of their book Your Money's Worth: a study in the waste of the Consumer's Dollar galvanized interest in testing products on behalf of consumers...
.
Biography
Schlink was born in PeoriaPeoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1912. In 1914, he acquired the degree of Mechanical Engineer, and worked at the United States Bureau of Standards until 1919. After work in quality control for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
, and for the Bell Telephone Laboratories, he became an assistant secretary for the non-profit American Standards Association.
In 1927, Schlink was co-author, with Stuart Chase
Stuart Chase
Stuart Chase was an American economist and engineer trained at MIT. His writings covered topics as diverse as general semantics and physical economy. His hybrid background of engineering and economics places him in the same philosophical camp as R. Buckminster Fuller...
, of the bestseller, Your Money's Worth, a warning about sales pressure and misleading advertising. The book called attention to the "Consumers' Club", a small organization in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
. Within two years, the club had members nationwide and was incorporated as Consumers' Research Arthur Kallet, the secretary of the group, enlisted Schlink's aid as co-author of One Hundred Million Guinea Pigs in 1933. (That was the population of the United States at the time.) The book caused a stir, noting that some well-advertised products (including mouthwash and hair dyes) were sometimes useless and even dangerous. His final book was Eat, Drink and be Wary in 1935. Schlink himself lived for sixty years after the book's publication and died at the age of 103.