Absolute Diagnostics Ltd

25/06/2025

In 1964, a chemist's unexpected discovery at DuPont led to a material five times stronger than steel—Kevlar.

The chemist was Stephanie Kwolek, working at DuPont's Pioneering Research Laboratory in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kwolek was tasked with finding a new lightweight, yet strong, synthetic fiber to reinforce radial tires. She was experimenting with rod-like polymer solutions.

During one experiment, she created a polymer solution that was different. It was cloudy, thin, and opalescent, unlike the usual clear and thick solutions. Many would have discarded it as a mistake.

However, Kwolek was intrigued. She convinced a reluctant colleague, the operator of the spinneret machine used to make fibers, to test her unusual solution. They were concerned it might clog the machine.

The results were astounding. The fiber spun from this solution was exceptionally strong and stiff – much stronger than any other fiber they had worked with. 🧪

This remarkable material was eventually named Kevlar. Its development was further refined, and it began to see commercial use.

Initially, Kevlar was indeed used in tires, first appearing in commercial racing tires in the early 1970s. 🚗

But its high tensile strength, heat resistance, and low weight meant its applications expanded far beyond tires. It began to be used in ropes, cables, and, most famously, in protective gear.

Today, Kevlar is a critical component in bulletproof vests, helmets, and other safety equipment, credited with saving numerous lives around the world. 🛡️

This life-saving material was born from a moment of curiosity about an unexpected laboratory outcome.

25/06/2025

24/06/2025

24/06/2025

24/06/2025

For the first time since 1984, the legendary Commodores are heading back to New Zealand for a tour packed with non-stop Motown, Funk and R&B magic! 🇳🇿

✨ Hear all the classics LIVE in concert – Easy, Nightshift, Three Times a Lady, Brick House, Machine Gun, Lady (You Bring Me Up), Sail On + more!

⭐ With over 75 million albums sold worldwide, the Commodores are one of the greatest groups of all time – don’t miss your chance to groove with these music icons!

NZ Tour Dates:
📍 20 October – Auckland, KTK Theatre
📍 21 October – Wellington, St James Theatre
📍 22 October – Christchurch, James Hay Theatre

🎟 Book Your Tickets Now

24/06/2025

24/06/2025

Facing rejection from over 20 prominent companies, Chester Carlson's unwavering determination eventually led to a revolutionary technology.

Carlson, a patent attorney and part-time inventor, was troubled by the slow and messy methods of duplicating documents available in his time.

He spent years experimenting in a small, makeshift laboratory he set up in Queens, New York, focusing on a process involving static electricity and dry powder.

In 1938 AD, Carlson achieved his breakthrough. He created the world's first xerographic copy, a glass slide marked with the date and location: "10-22-38 ASTORIA." 📜

Despite this success, Carlson faced a long road. For several years, he presented his invention to numerous major companies, but none saw its potential.

The tide began to turn in 1944 when the Battelle Memorial Institute, a non-profit research organization, agreed to partner with him to further develop the technology.

Three years later, in 1947, the Haloid Company, a modest firm from Rochester that produced photographic paper, acquired the rights to commercialize xerography. This company would eventually be known as the Xerox Corporation.

The first commercial photocopier, initially called the XeroX Model A, was released in 1949. Though it was a significant step, the machine was somewhat complex to operate.

Nevertheless, xerography began its journey to revolutionize offices and information sharing. 🤯

Chester Carlson's persistence through years of challenges ultimately made copying documents fast, inexpensive, and accessible to millions, laying the foundation for a global industry.

24/06/2025

The first ‘pumpkin pie’ wasn’t a pie at all, and it certainly wasn't a dessert.

When European colonists arrived in America, they learned about pumpkins from the Native American tribes who had been cultivating them for thousands of years.

The Indigenous peoples taught the newcomers how to prepare the gourds. The earliest version of a colonial 'pie' was a whole pumpkin, hollowed out, filled with a savory mix of stewed squash, maybe some venison and spices, and then roasted in the hot ashes of a fire.

This agricultural knowledge was nothing new. Archaeologists have found evidence of pumpkin and squash domestication in the Americas dating as far back as 10,000 BC.

Tribes like the Wampanoag had mastered growing these crops and used them as a staple food. They would roast or boil pumpkins, and even dry them into strips to make a flour that could be stored for winter.

So, if you were at the famous 1621 harvest feast, now called Thanksgiving, you would not have found a sweet pumpkin pie on the table. The colonists didn't have the ovens, butter, or wheat flour needed to make a proper pie crust.

The sweet, spiced pumpkin pie we know today didn't appear for another 175 years. The first published recipe for a 'pompkin' pudding baked in a crust appeared in the 1796 cookbook, *American Cookery*.

That holiday dessert is the result of a long history, combining Native American agricultural innovation with later colonial cooking styles.

24/06/2025

Boeing engineers once filled an entire airplane with sacks of potatoes just to test the in-flight Wi-Fi. ✈️

It happened around 2012 when the company needed a reliable way to fine-tune their wireless signal strength for passengers.

They needed to simulate a plane full of people, but having human testers sit motionless for days on end was not a practical solution.

They discovered that potatoes, due to their specific water content and chemistry, absorb and reflect radio wave signals in a way that is remarkably similar to the human body.

So, they loaded a plane with thousands of pounds of potatoes, placing a large sack in every single seat to mimic a full flight. 🥔

This allowed them to systematically map the signal strength throughout the cabin, identifying weak spots and dead zones that needed to be fixed.

The method, while unusual, was a clever and effective piece of engineering that helped ensure a better connection for travelers.

This potato-based testing provided the data needed to optimize the placement of Wi-Fi routers and signal boosters on their aircraft. 📶

Sources: Journal of Food Science, Phys org, WIRED

24/06/2025

24/06/2025

Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov, a hero of World War II, developed a taste for something quite forbidden in the USSR: Coca-Cola.

After being introduced to the American drink, likely by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Zhukov found himself wanting more. The problem was that he couldn't be seen consuming such a famous symbol of American capitalism.

So, in a quiet request, he asked if the Americans could create a version of the popular soda that looked like a more acceptable Russian beverage: vodka.

The strange request was relayed through military and diplomatic channels, eventually reaching President Harry S. Truman. Truman then passed the task along to the Coca-Cola company.

A chemist at a Coca-Cola plant was tasked with the job and successfully found a way to remove the caramel coloring from the formula, leaving the liquid completely clear.

To complete the disguise, this new "White Coke" was bottled in straight-sided, clear glass bottles. The packaging was intentionally plain, featuring a white cap with a single red star in the center to appeal to the Marshal.

In 1946, an initial shipment of 50 cases was carefully prepared and delivered to Marshal Zhukov, a covert transaction of a Western luxury for one of the Soviet Union's most powerful figures. 🥤

This unusual collaboration was a fascinating, and now mostly forgotten, footnote from the period just before the relationship between the two world powers officially hardened into the Cold War.

Sources: Journalist Accounts, Coca-Cola Company Archives