The American chemist, Wallace Hume Carothers, could never have known that he one day would be so popular with ladies. His popularity with women literally hung by a silken thread: in 1935, he created a fibre which was as fine as silk, but stronger than cotton - nylon.
Nylon® was intended to be a synthetic replacement for silk for example in stockings, and also replaced animal hair in toothbrushes. The stockings were unveiled in 1939, to great public acclaim. On 15 May 1940, when nylon stockings first appeared on the American market, they created a sensation. In New York City alone, four million pairs were sold in just a few hours!
Nylon® was used in parachutes, ropes, flak vests, vehicle tires, combat uniforms and many other military applications after the United States entered World War II in 1941, making stockings hard to find until the war's end. Nylon fibers are now used in fabrics, bridal veils, carpets, guitar strings and ropes. Solid nylon is used for mechanical parts and in engineering.
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