Facts & Figures

Billion-Dollar Optimism. Business inventories increased by almost $900 million in September, the Department of Commerce reported, and the value of all goods on hand went up to a record of more than $40 billion. Coming after a decline in July and an August rise of $769 million, September's increase, said Government experts, reflected a resurgence of the optimism that set off last year's inventory boom.

Vest-Pocket Vesuvius. A hot drink can easily be prepared in a snowstorm with a new pestle-like gadget called the Heatron Stirrer. It has a small cylinder on one end vhich contains a cartridge-like charge. Immersed in liquid, the stirrer gives off enough fumeless heat to bring a cup of water to the boiling point. Price, including six charges: $3.

Erratic Air. T.W.A. reported a net

profit of $884,124 for the third quarter,

compared with a loss of $3,235,492 for

the same period last year, when its Constellations were grounded. The September

net on domestic flights alone totaled

$467,148, best in the airline's history.

But for the first nine months T.W.A. was

still in the red by $4,637,709.

Antifreeze Squeeze. Cold weather caught the U.S. short of antifreeze. In many cities, under-the-counter caches (at over listed price) were the only source of supply. One reason for the shortage: production remained the same, while the number of cars increased. Another reason: chemical manufacturers are using more methanol and glycols, two basic ingredients of antifreeze, for plastics.

Insecure Securities. In Boston, surety agents uncovered $35,000 worth of the millions in U.S. securities which had been confiscated by the Nazis, have been missing ever since war's end. U.S. security dealers have been put on their guard--and furnished with a list of suspect securities--just in case they have been smuggled into the U.S.

Waxworks of Tomorrow. In Racine Wis., S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (Johnson's Wax) began building a radically new research building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who also designed the com pany's administrative building. The air conditioned structure, which resembles a hollyhock in a glass case (see cut), will be 40 feet square, have 15 floors. Alternate floors will be circular, and all floors will be hung in cantilever fashion from a central reinforced-concrete stem which contains the elevators.

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