Note 12 — Chapter XV
Reading edition
Few modern laymen realize that aluminum, now so commonly used by every household, was, less than a hundred years ago a "precious metal" known only to royal coffers and experimental laboratories. When a method of obtaining it freely from its native ores was finally invented, so inexperienced was the general public in its uses that a company had to be formed to "educate" mankind to its employment. Even today the many uses of aluminum are not yet decided.—Ed.