A new direction to search in - eutectic metallurgy

In the 1940s, most younger Americans were quite slim. Look at photos and newsreels from back then. 

It wasn't just cigarettes keeping them skinny. There are many, many smokers who are unable to lose weight just by calorie restriction.

It's now very noticeable how even little children are no longer so slim. Too many athletic teens remain overweight and often injure themselves because of the extra weight they carry. Our military is having a hard time recruiting young people with healthy body weights. It's clear we aren't getting a healthful food supply in some ways. Instapundit frequently said, "You can't outrun a bad diet."

I think some food chemistry-related information has been hidden from us in the intervening decades. Yesterday I found a 1940s chemistry book. I look forward to seeing what it contained that now is no longer taught in general ed chemistry.

My first investigation direction will be eutectic alloys, something not even mentioned in my modern college chemistry book despite being important to metallurgy.

My old dictionary does include eutectic...right after a reference to Christmas:

[Update 06/07/2025: My 1943 chemistry book mentions serpentine, saying it is an anhydrous magnesium silicate. The combination of "anhydrous" and "silicate" caught my eye. I looked in my huge 1960s dictionary, and it did not state in a straightforward way that serpentine was that compound. I'll have to look into what happens when I make anhydrous magnesium silicate in my kitchen.]