Today’s #FashionFriday doubles as a #ScienceFriday, as this ca. 1950s photograph documents the DuPont Company’s human trials of experimental nylon fibers.
Nylon, a generic designation for a range of synthetic polymer fabrics, was commercially introduced by the DuPont Company on October 27, 1938. This announcement followed years of research into polymer fabrics that first began in 1927, when the company made the decision to split its chemical department into a collection of small research teams, each tasked with conducting research into practical applications for scientific discoveries and specific market goals.
Even after the introduction of nylon, DuPont continued to experiment with various polymer blends intended to make the fabric more comfortable and more durable. One particular issue raised by the new product was the question of dermatitis. New variants of nylon that emerged from DuPont’s labs during these decades were first tested on animals. If the product passed that test, it was then moved on to testing on paid human volunteers.
In this photo, small patches of nylon are being taped to women’s legs and arms at the Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology and Industrial Medicine near Newark, Delaware. The patches were left on for one week, then removed for ten days and again applied.
This photograph is part of the Hagley Library’s collection of DuPont Company Product Information photographs (Accession 1972.341). You can view more material from this collection online now by clicking here to view its page in our Digital Archive.
Does this ant act insane or is it just its name? The first sentence of an article (Snelling 1995) summing up the identification problems with Dorymyrmex insanus states "No North American ant has been cursed with such a singularly unfortunate taxonomic history as that described by Buckley (1866)...". The original description doesnt say which specimens (holotypes and paratypes) were used and was quite vague. As a result, the species name has changed numerous times, giving myrmecologists a huge headache. It just goes to show that specimens are important! . . . #Dorymyrmex #Dorymyrmexinsanus #FormicidaeFriday #taxonomy #sciencefriday #ants #insects #bugs #bugsofinsta #myrmecology #entomology #museumlife #buglife #naturalhistory #itsallgoodep #instaeptx #elpaso411 #macrophotography https://www.instagram.com/p/Bys8TJ2B35e/?igshid=1s60nfr5jqy3p
This summer, as part of the Science Friday Book Club reading of Stephen Hawking’s monumental work, ‘A Brief History Of Time,’ SciFri called upon artists to help interpret Hawking’s vivid depictions of the universe with art.
As one of the six selected artists, I’m happy to present to you my contribution. For more details: SciFri’s official article.
It’s a #fanartfriday! Or maybe #sciencefriday but really, every day is a science day! #Repost @androgynart ・・・ SCIENCE by #AndrogynArt. #AlbertEinstein #NeildeGrasseTyson #StephenHawking #Physicists #SupportYourLocalArtists https://www.instagram.com/p/BntRR8YHf30/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=n2mti5pxoffr
Even though last night was Saturday, I had a great time at #ScienceFriday ! They recorded the 9/15 show last night at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Wichita. The coolest part was that the last interview they did was with my two lab mates Emmy and Rachel! They absolutely killed it bringing the joys of dung and carrion beetles to the public (at Wichita Orpheum Theatre)