Melissa M. Littlefield, Reinventing Wool

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How could you possibly improve on wool, the perfect fiber? In the 20th century, scientists thought they could do just that. Some of their innovations have disappeared . . . but some remain. In the middle of the 20th century, with technology promising a modern lifestyle that would be newer and better in every way, wool fiber began to look old-fashioned. The incredible demand for wool up through World War II began to wane, and the apparent miracle of synthetic fiber reached American homes. Yet sheep still formed the backbone of some states’ economies, and they kept producing wool. If only there were some way to make it easier to wash and prevent moths from eating clothes, carpets, and…