Saturday, February 16, 2013

This Day in History February 16, 1937

Well, ladies, it was a momentous days for those lovely nylon stockings we "love" to wear.  On this date in 1937, Wallace Carothers filed a patent for nylon--technically called Nylon 6-6 (because of the six atoms in its molecules).  Carothers had been searching for a substitute for silk, due to our strained relations with Japan.  It took him three years, but he finally accomplished his goal.  Sadly, he suffered from depression, and  in spite of all of his research and findings organic chemistry, he committed suicide on April 28, 1937 through ingestion of cyanide dissolved in lemon juice (to speed up the process).  How sad that a very intelligent man such as he would meet such an untimely end.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Carothers
http://thepeoplehistorytoday.blogspot.com/2013/02/king-tutankhamen-1923-burial-chamber-of.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/nylon.htm
http://famousdaily.com/history/wallace-carothers-patents-nylon.html

3 comments:

  1. Nylons are a great product. Thank goodness for this invention.

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  2. Great invention. Such a sad end to his life.

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  3. My mother used to wear those old style nylons and put some on me when I was a child. Had to wear them to church.

    ReplyDelete

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