nPostednon February 16, 2015
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n“Necessitynis the mother of invention.”
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nThatnold saying means that, when faced with a problem and trying to comenup with a solution, people often come up with new ideas. They inventnnew procedures or create new devices. They innovate!
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nInnthe 1930s, the U.S. faced the problem of having a pretty yuckynrelationship with Japan. And the relationship was getting worse andnworse, not better. (In just a few years, the two nations would benfighting against each other in World War II!)
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nOnenof the problems with a bad-and-getting-worse relationship with Japannwas that the latter nation was the world’s leading producer of silk.nAnd Americans used and wanted silk. We didn’t want to have to rely onnan enemy for one of our favorite fabrics!
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nSo…thennecessity of wanting to find a substitute for silk led to theninvention of nylon!
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nAnbit of history, a dab of science…
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nTodaynis the anniversary of the 1937 patent for nylon, issued to Wallace H.nCarothers.
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Carothersnand other chemists working for DuPont knew about polymers, hugenmolecules made of long chains of repeated elements. They were tryingnto come up with a polymer that would make a useful fabric, but asnthey created fibers, a small amount of water was produced; the waternwould drip back into the mixture and weaken the fibers.
Carothersnand other chemists working for DuPont knew about polymers, hugenmolecules made of long chains of repeated elements. They were tryingnto come up with a polymer that would make a useful fabric, but asnthey created fibers, a small amount of water was produced; the waternwould drip back into the mixture and weaken the fibers.n
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nCarothersnhad to use a machine called a “molecular still,” which pulled outnthe fibers once they had cooled. Now the fibers were much longer andnstronger, and more “elastic” or able to resume normal shape afternbeing pulled or otherwise distorted.
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nNylonnwas soon being used for toothbrushes, women’s stockings, parachutes,nbridal veils, flak vests, carpets, tents, rope, and so much more!
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nNylonnwas the first commercially successful human-made polymer. Since itsninvention, many more polymers have been invented and sold and usednand enjoyed. Just a few more include Kevlar, Mylar, Orlon, Teflon,nand polyvinylchloride (PVC).
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nAlsonon this date:
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Presidents’nDay
Presidents’nDayn
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nGambia’s National Dayn
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nGambia’s National Dayn
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nBrigadiernGeneral Anna Mae Hays’s birthday
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nAnniversarynof the opening of King Tut’s burial chamber
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nLithuania’snIndependence Day
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nAnniversarynof the first Esperanto club in the U.S.
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nFebruaryn holidays
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nFebruaryn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in February
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nMarchn holidays
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