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
