Wallace Carothers (1896–1937) invented nylon while working for the DuPont Company in the 1930s. The name "nylon" was originally a DuPont trademark. Nylon first appeared in the form of toothbrush bristles in 1938. Soon nylon became one of the most widely used man-made materials. It is used in ropes, plastic sheeting, netting, moldings, and woven fabrics. It is also used as an insulating material in electrical goods. Nylon takes the place of steel bearings, gears, and bushings (insulating linings for holes or tubes) in all kinds of machines. It is also widely used in medicine for making splints, sutures, braces and other items. At the start of the twenty-first century, nylon appears in almost all areas of life. Without it, many of the things people take for granted would not exist.

Within two years of the first toothbrush bristles, nylon was being used to make lightweight fabrics for hosiery. Because...