Parachute
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A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who can exit from an aircraft at height and descend safely to earth.
Paratroopers deploying their parachutes during an exercise
The oldest known depiction of a parachute, attributed to Taccola (Italy, 1470s)
Fausto Veranzio's parachute design, titled Homo Volans ("Flying Man"), from his Machinae Novae ("New Contraptions", published in 1615 or 1616)
Louis-Sébastien Lenormand jumps from the tower of the Montpellier observatory, 1783. Illustration from the late 19th century.
Nylon
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Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers with amide backbones, usually linking aliphatic or semi-aromatic groups.
Wallace Carothers
Nylon stockings being inspected in Malmö, Sweden, in 1954
Close-up photograph of the knitted nylon fabric used in stockings
These worn out nylon stockings will be reprocessed and made into parachutes for army fliers c. 1942