Kevlar

Hello, I'm Kevlar. You might not see me every day, but I bet I've helped someone you know. I look like a simple thread, a beautiful golden-yellow color, but I have a secret. I am super, super strong. How strong. Well, imagine a rope made of steel. I am five times stronger than that. Isn't that amazing. I wasn't an invention that someone planned to make. I was a wonderful surprise, a happy accident that turned out to be a hidden hero. My most important job is to protect people and keep them safe from harm. I love being strong so I can help others be safe and sound in all sorts of amazing ways.

My story begins back in 1965 with a very curious scientist named Stephanie Kwolek. She was a chemist, which means she loved mixing things together to see what would happen. She worked at a big company called DuPont, and her job was to try and make a new kind of fiber that was light but also very strong, maybe for car tires. One day, while she was mixing chemicals, she created a liquid that looked all wrong. It was thin and cloudy and looked more like buttermilk than a strong new material. Everyone else thought it was a mistake and told her to throw it away. But Stephanie was curious. She had a feeling about this strange liquid. She said, 'Let's test it anyway.'. She took it to a special machine called a spinneret, which is like a tiny showerhead that spins liquid into threads. The man who ran the machine was worried it would break his expensive equipment. But Stephanie insisted, and guess what happened. The machine didn't break. Instead, it spun out the most amazing, super-stiff, and super-strong fibers. That was me. I was born from a happy accident and a scientist who trusted her gut.

After Stephanie discovered me, the other scientists at DuPont were so excited. They spent the next few years, all the way until 1971, learning how to make lots and lots of me so I could start my important jobs. And oh, what wonderful jobs I have. I get woven together to make special vests that protect brave police officers and soldiers. I am also used to make thick, heat-proof gloves for firefighters so they can rescue people from hot places without getting burned. If you’ve ever seen a race car driver or a bicyclist wearing a strong helmet, I might be in there, keeping them safe. But that’s not all. My strength is used for ropes on spaceships, sails on racing boats that zip across the water, and even in parts for giant airplanes. I am proof that sometimes, the best things come from unexpected surprises. My whole life started with a strange, cloudy liquid and a scientist who never gave up on a curious idea, and now I get to help people all over the world.