Nylon

Did the inventors of nylon have any idea their creation would bring the world such products as pantyhose, lightweight luggage and inexpensive carpeting? Or that it would help lead to to the discovery of recombinant DNA and to biotechnology? Wallace Carothers, the Harvard chemistry instructor whose research created nylon, never even lived to hear the name Du Pont gave to his invention. He committed suicide by drinking cyanide shortly after the patent on nylon was issued in 1937.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK — On a bright Saturday morning, Nathan Huerta is struggling to keep his balance as he walks slowly across an inch-wide length of nylon line suspended some 200 feet above a heap of granite boulders in a rugged patch of desert terrain known as the "Hall of Horrors. " With the line oscillating beneath his bare feet and strong gusts of wind hitting him on all sides, Huerta's lofty goal is to reach the other side of the precipice without falling. Huerta is halfway across the 70-foot-long line when he misses a step and tumbles over into the void.

Amazing, how a simple rearrangement of molecules can change a whole way of living. Fifty years ago today, Du Pont announced that it could transform air, water and coal into a strange new substance. Nylon. At the time, no one suspected this clever scientific trick would usher in "the materials revolution," much less put sexy lingerie in the bedrooms of K mart shoppers.

Despite what the shampoo commercials tell you, maybe oily hair is a good thing after all. Or at least hair that picks up oil. That's why hairstylists, dog groomers and farmers across the country are mobilizing to collect hair, which, the theory goes, can be used to sop up oil from the massive spill off the Gulf Coast. Already, more than 450,000 pounds of hair is en route to more than 15 locations in the South — including warehouses, extra mall space and homeowners' garages — where volunteers plan to stuff it into nylons, said Lisa Gautier, the president of Matter of Trust a 12-year-old nonprofit environmental organization in San Francisco.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK — On a bright Saturday morning, Nathan Huerta is struggling to keep his balance as he walks slowly across an inch-wide length of nylon line suspended some 200 feet above a heap of granite boulders in a rugged patch of desert terrain known as the "Hall of Horrors. " With the line oscillating beneath his bare feet and strong gusts of wind hitting him on all sides, Huerta's lofty goal is to reach the other side of the precipice without falling. Huerta is halfway across the 70-foot-long line when he misses a step and tumbles over into the void.

Standing on a swaying length of flat nylon slung like a tightrope, my knees shake as I try desperately not to fall. But every time I take a tentative step, I lose my balance. Fortunately for me, this isn't a circus act performed several stories up; I'm slacklining -- and the ground is a mere 12 inches away. A trio of experts are attempting to show me how it's done. With the backing of a German manufacturer of slacklines, the men are trying to raise the sport's profile by touring the U.S. giving demonstrations.

After reading your article on the trappers' trade, I would like to thank the animal rights movement for promoting the use of synthetic fur and nylon coats for warmth instead of real fur. That's all we need is more toxins dumped on the Earth by manufacturing synthetic fur and nylon instead of using carefully managed, natural, renewable resources that God put on the Earth for our use. Also natural fur doesn't sit in the dumps for a couple hundred years...

Du Pont: First-quarter profit rose 25% to $736 million from a year ago. The chemical company based in Wilmington, Del., reported that sales rose 10% to $8.7 billion, compared to last year. The company said the improved report reflected strong worldwide demand, higher selling prices and higher crude oil prices. The company's major products are petroleum through its subsidiary, Conoco, nylon and other fibers, polymers and agricultural chemicals. Tables, Page 12

Hooray for cloth diapers ("Pair Happy With Bottom Line of Diaper Service," Sept. 7). My children are 1, 3 and 5, and all have been diapered in cloth. I even use pins and nylon pants. As my friend said: Changing a diaper is changing a diaper. You've got to do it anyway, so may as well use cloth. Diaper service is where it's at. Would you want to wear paper underwear? KELLI ZAEHRINGER Ventura

Successful shopping sprees can be greatly aided by practical preparation in the form of sturdy, efficient luggage. Luggage manufacturers offer hard-sided (more protective, but heavier) or soft-sided (more stuffable) cases in a great many sizes and shapes, in plain colors or patterns, with a variety of pockets and special features, and with or without wheels (either built-in or removable). Choosing isn't easy. However, interviews with a random sampling of luggage retailers nationwide, found that two manufacturers, Tumi and Andiamo, were consistently mentioned.

Standing on a swaying length of flat nylon slung like a tightrope, my knees shake as I try desperately not to fall. But every time I take a tentative step, I lose my balance. Fortunately for me, this isn't a circus act performed several stories up; I'm slacklining -- and the ground is a mere 12 inches away. A trio of experts are attempting to show me how it's done. With the backing of a German manufacturer of slacklines, the men are trying to raise the sport's profile by touring the U.S. giving demonstrations.

The eagle is named Beauty, although she is anything but. Most of Beauty's upper beak was shot off several years ago, leaving her with a stump that is useless for hunting. Now a team of volunteers is working to attach an artificial beak to the bird in an effort to keep her alive. "For Beauty it's like using only one chopstick to eat. It can't be done," said biologist Jane Fink Cantwell, who operates a raptor recovery center in this Idaho Panhandle town. "She has trouble drinking.

It took the Astrodome, an air-conditioned refuge from the brutal Texas heat, to create the need for AstroTurf, an artificial grass that could survive an artificial environment. But 37 years after its professional sports debut, the ersatz turf has reached its end. Southwest Recreational Industries Inc., the Texas company that made AstroTurf, last week filed for bankruptcy to go out of business -- citing over-expansion and a shrinking market for nylon lawns.

Rose Augustine, who with her late husband developed and manufactured the first nylon guitar strings -- a post-World War II innovation that revolutionized classical guitar playing -- has died. She was 93. Augustine, a former New York City high school chemistry teacher who became an influential patron of budding classical guitarists and sponsored concert series and competitions, died of natural causes April 21 in Manhattan. Albert Augustine Ltd.

Hundreds of workers and activists hurled rocks and firebombs at police to protest the breaking of a strike at South Korea's largest nylon plant. At dawn, 3,600 riot police backed by bulldozers stormed the Hyosung plant. Eight workers and 36 police officers were injured in the clash in Ulsan, 200 miles southeast of Seoul. Workers at the plant began striking May 24 after management relocated 14 workers whose jobs were no longer needed.

As the concert season gets underway at Cal State Northridge, the musical calendar is fortified by appearances of the classical, nylon-string guitar. There will be the usual complement of classical guitar concerts sponsored by the Guitar Department and the American Guitar Society. But tonight the stylistic pendulum swings toward a hybrid of flamenco, gypsy and rock contained within the personalized sound of Oscar Lopez.

Police are searching for the armed man who robbed the Hamle Market on Monday night while wearing a nylon stocking over his head, police said. A man wearing a black T-shirt, shorts and a stocking over his face entered the produce shop, in the 9800 block of Warner Avenue, about 8:45 p.m., Sgt. Jim Perry said. The robber removed a handgun from his waistband and demanded the money from the register. The clerk, alone in the store, complied, and the robber ran out.

It's durable. It's versatile. And when it's used in textiles, it's easier on the environment than, say, cotton. Yet its cannabis connection has slowed its widespread use. We're talking about hemp, and, by extension, hemp fashion — a concept that seems like an oxymoron but is quietly being embraced by the mainstream as major designers and clothing retailers take on the material that has long been equated with burlap and granola-munching hippies....

Before there was Maxim, the fast-growing magazine of the moment for young men, Ray Gun and Bikini already were reaching a segment of this elusive audience with edgy graphics, arresting photos and a plugged-in sensibility. Ray Gun, a music and culture magazine that featured a fold-out cover of Beck in January and has Fatboy Slim on its February cover, was launched in 1992. Bikini, more of a general-interest title, followed a year later, also from Ray Gun Publishing Inc. in Santa Monica.

Some 1,200 feet above Yosemite Valley, Dean Potter took a deep breath and stepped with his bare feet upon a nylon rope strung 70 feet across a precipice. It undulated beneath him. Exhaling slowly, he started to edge forward. The rope oscillated like a gigantic rubber band. Potter tried to focus on his orange Peach Schnapps T-shirt tied in a knot at the other end of the rope. But something was wrong. Potter was afraid.