On this day in 1938, a DuPont chemist named Roy J. Plunkett in Deepwater, N.J., accidentally disc…
On this day in 1938, a DuPont chemist named Roy J. Plunkett in Deepwater, N.J., accidentally discovered #polytetrafluoroethylene, a slippery substance remarkably resistant to water, grease and stains. #DuPont patented #PTFE as #Teflon.
To honor Plunkett’s discovery, April 6 is #TeflonDay.
Teflon became the basis for hundreds of products, from #cookware to food wrappers to #waterproof clothing, a brand that eventually earned DuPont $1 billion a year.
The market expansion was boosted by another chemical called #PFOA, which smoothed out Teflon and made it easier to work with.
The 3M Company was the original manufacturer of PFOA, but DuPont was its biggest customer for the stuff. DuPont used billions of pounds of PFOA, also known as C8, to make Teflon at its Washington.
