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1001 things a boy could (used to) do! #2.

Instead of blowing things up, another possibility was to hunt down the criminals responsible.

An invaluable asset in this quest was a fingerprint kit.

The ingredients were simple:
  1. old [glazed] saucer
  2. roll of sellotape
  3. box of matches or cigarette lighter
  4. aluminium powder [again buyable from Lennox]
  5. light camel hair brush [from kiddies paintbox]
The cooking instructions equally so:
  1. burn the centre of the base of the saucer with a flame. This leaves a nice carbon deposit.
  2. have the subject place the tip of their finger carefully on the carbonated surface
  3. lift print with a piece of sellotape which is then folded over itself to seal the print
  4. mount on a piece of card where subjects details can also be recorded.
Prints could be lifted from other surfaces for comparison with indexed prints. As I remember it, paper and glass were very good for retaining liftable prints.


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