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Author: Stefene Russell
I love sciplus.com. Not only because it sells Bomex separatory
funnels, mug warmers, and gallon drums of plastic ants; not only
because they have a great mascot named Jarvis; and not only
because their URL is a clever play on words ("sciplus," sounds
like Bugs Bunny saying "surplus
with an emphasis on science. In this short little url, they get
both aspects in there--and turn it into a punchline to boot). I
just dig the whole thing, all around. I visit them to see what
nifty gadgets they're hawking this week, but their hilarious
catalog descriptions keep me coming back just to read the
content. "So," you may be asking, "who are these guys, anyway?"
Sciplus is actually the online incarnation of American Science
and Surplus, which has been in existence (in some form or the
other) for most of the 20th Century. In 1937, Mr. Al Leubbers was
just hanging around Chicago, working for Western Electric. He
happened to be an optics buff, so when he noticed that the
warehouse next door was tossing out large numbers of reject
lenses (Ping! Went the lightbulb over Al's head) he asked the
company if he could buy the rejects. They told him he could have
them if he'd please just *take* them away. Al and his wife Buddy
spent the next several weeks polishing lenses at the kitchen
table. They placed an ad in Popular Mechanics, and started
unloading them at 10 for $1, and American Lens and Photo was
born. The company expanded to embrace general surplus after World
War II, and became the American Science Center. They officially
became American Science and Surplus in the early 90s, and ( Next Page )
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