SHERMAN, Patsy, American industrial chemist. Whilst doing research in the labs at 3M Corporation, she inadvertently invented Scotchgard. This has been a most important material used in fabric protection. The story is that she spilt a chemical material on her tennis shoes, and later noticed some degree of water-repellency in the shoes. This then suggested to her the concept of fabric protection, why not coat fabrics with chemicals to induce protection against damage by water or oils? Later she was a co-inventor of fluorochemicals designed for this new application.

Inventor

'Scotchgard'