When was nylon invented and do the letters NY and LON stand for New York and London?

Answer 1

Oh, dude, nylon was invented in 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont. And no, NY and LON in nylon don't stand for New York and London. They actually represent the two cities where the material was simultaneously developed, New York and London - how original, right?

Answer 2

No it doesn't mean NY and LOndon. It was a marketing term invented by a team at DuPont. They went through several names, including Duparooh (DuPont Pulls a Rabbit Out of a Hat) Norun (refering to its use as hosiery), nillon, nilon (confusing pronunciation) and finally nylon. For a great article on the history of nylon, see: Bruns, Roger. (1988, Dec.). Of miracles and molecules: The story of nylon. American History Illustrated, 23 (8), 24-29, 48. By Dupont, 1935: inventors.about.com Probably does mean NewYork and London Nylon was invented by Wallace Carothers in 1935. There was a great demand for it as it was used for parachutes and tires. It is still used today in toothbrushes, stockings, fishing products, etc. A "nylon commuter" is someone who commutes between New York and London. A number of "Brand Names " were developed by the inventing company, DUPONT Chemicals, such as NYLON, BANLON, ORLON and RAYON. All were types of woven textiles. Jim Bunting. Toronto. Actually, Jim, rayon was invented around 1885 and it is not a synthetic fiber as were the ones invented by DuPont. Instead, the original rayon was a regenerated cellulose (made from cotton linters and wood pulp). Yes it does stand for New York and London as it was created by scientists from the locations. No it doesn't--see notes above. In the UK we have a programme on the telly, hosted by Stephen Fry, called QI (Quite Interesting) & it assured me when I saw it recently that Nylon is nothing to do with New York & London ! Correct! See notes above. Final answer, Nylon was not named after New York and London.