An incredible event occurred in the 1930s that has changed lives ever since. That event, the creation of nylon, manipulated the way people dress and live their daily lives. It also provided more employment opportunities and job improvements over the years. A team of DuPont researchers, led by Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers, invented the first synthetic material, nylon, in 1934 (Adams 21). They were looking for an artificial substitute for silk when they extracted an elastic cord from plastic, creating nylon. There are two popular ways to create nylon for fiber applications. One, ¡°molecules with an acidic group (COOH) on each end are reacted with molecules containing amino groups (NH©ü) on each end. ¡± Nylon 6,6 is made this way. The other common way to make nylon fibers is to polymerize a compound containing an amine at one end and an acid at the other, to form a chain with recurring groups of (-NH-[CH©ü]n-CO- )x. If x=5, the fiber is called nylon 6 (nylon fiber). This new invention had better qualities and/or capabilities than any other material already in use. Nylons are best known for their ability to be dyed, for not being damaged by many types of household cleaning products or greases and oils, for their quick drying time and, above all, for their silk-like appearance ( The World Book). The tensile strength of nylon is greater than that of cotton, rayon, silk and wool (Encarta). They also have features that include elasticity, easy to clean,...