The “Failed” Experiment That Saved Thousands of Lives

Sometimes good things come into our life disguised as mistakes. We think that the things that happen to us are bad. Really they are the things that will make our life better. Others arrive disguised as mistakes. This is what makes life so interesting. We have to learn to look at the things that happen to us in a way and see that others arrive disguised as mistakes.

In 1965 Stephanie Kwolek, a chemist went to her laboratory and made something that seemed totally wrong. It was an thin liquid that looked useless. This liquid was nothing, like the fibers that Stephanie Kwolek and her team were trying to make. Her colleagues said she should get rid of it. Stephanie Kwoleks boss also thought it was a failed experiment. Did not think it was worth keeping. Stephanie Kwoleks discovery, the liquid was supposed to be thrown away.

She did not.

She did not give up. She trusted her curiosity. She tested it anyway. This changed the world of the world forever. The world was changed by her curiosity.

The Discovery No One Expected

Stephanie Kwolek was not trying to come up with something new and amazing. She was just doing her job at DuPont trying to make fibers that were not too heavy for people to use in factories and things, like that. What she had to do every day was pretty normal. She had to mix things see how they worked and write down what happened with the lightweight fibers. She was really working on these fibers for industrial use.

Then one day she got a strange idea:

This thing was not smooth. It was not promising. It was a milky liquid that people thought was a waste. People did not like the liquid because it was not useful, to them. The milky liquid was something that people wanted to get rid of.

A lot of scientists would have given up by now. Most scientists would have moved on to something.

Stephanie did not.

She really wanted to spin the liquid into fibers even when the people, in charge did not want her to do it.. When the machine started to pull the fibers, something very surprising happened:

The fibers were stronger than steel. Yet they were incredibly lightweight.

Something that was a mistake had just changed the way we think about the past. A mistake had just rewritten history.

Kevlar: A Miracle Material Born From Curiosity

Stephanies discovery became Kevlar. A material that is now used to make all sorts of things. Kevlar is something that people use every day. Stephanies discovery of Kevlar is really important. Kevlar is a material that is now woven into lots of things like clothes and accessories and even some cars have Kevlar in them. The discovery of Kevlar, by Stephanie is very useful.

1. Bulletproof vests

2. Helmets

3. Firefighter gear

4. Safety gloves

5. Airplane parts

6. Ropes and cables

7. Car tires

Things that need to be really strong and last a time, like Kevlar usually have Kevlar in them. Kevlar is also very light which is great. So if something has to be strong and it has to be durable and it has to be light it probably has Kevlar in it because Kevlar is all those things.

Her invention has saved the lives of than 3,000 people, particularly soldiers and police officers who wear Kevlar vests to stay alive in very dangerous situations. The Kevlar vests are really important for soldiers and police officers because they help these people survive when they are in situations. The invention has made a difference, for people who wear Kevlar vests every day.

This all started because she would not look away, from something that seemed like a bad idea at the time. She saw something that people thought was an experiment and she decided not to ignore the weird experiment. The weird experiment is what changed everything for her.

The woman who saw value where others saw failure is an interesting person. She can look at something that is not working and find a way to make it work. The woman who saw value where others saw failure has a gift.

She is the kind of person who can take something and make it new again. The woman who saw value where others saw failure is very good at finding uses, for things. People often throw things away because they do not see the value in them. The woman who saw value where others saw failure does not do this.

The woman who saw value where others saw failure is a smart woman. She knows that just because something is not working now it does not mean it will never work. The woman who saw value where others saw failure is a problem. She can look at a problem. Find a solution. The woman who saw value where others saw failure is a special person.

What makes Kwoleks story really amazing is not the thing she invented it is the way Kwolek thinks.

When everyone else said "throw it " She said, "Let us test the thing."

When other people did not think the liquid was worth anything, She saw a lot of potential in that thing. The potential was really something that caught her eye.

When her team was, in a spot and had to come up with results really quickly, She decided that curiosity was more important than taking shortcuts. She picked curiosity over shortcuts because that is what she really wanted. The thing that mattered to her was curiosity so she chose curiosity, over shortcuts.

Her courage in that moment did not just help a company it helped humanity. She showed a lot of courage. That really made a big difference. Her courage, in that moment was very important. It helped humanity in a significant way.