In 1965, a chemist expected a routine polymer solution and got a bizarre cloudy liquid instead: It became Kevlar

In 1965, the world of materials science was forever changed by scientist Stephanie Kwolek, who stumbled upon a peculiar cloudy polymer mixture that most dismissed. Undeterred, she pushed forward with rigorous testing, ultimately leading to the invention of Kevlar—a fiber that is five times stronger than steel by weight.