White goods like electric irons and washing machines made household chores quicker and easier without the need for paid help, while synthetic fabrics offered the appearance of wealth at an ...

This chemistry know-how allowed people to build polymers that can be pulled into extremely long fibers. Fabrics made from these fibers are called synthetic fabrics. Nylon, polyester, and acrylic are ...

Twisting the fibers together makes a strong yarn. Finally, using tools or machines, people weave or knit the yarn together to make fabric. Cotton, linen, silk, wool, cashmere, and burlap are all ...

So, synthetic fabrics can keep you drier – but make you smellier. Why can that be? The job of analysing our samples fell to Prof Andrew McBain and Dr Gavin Humphreys from the University of ...