Scotchgard

Did you know...
Scotchgard the first stain repellent and soil release textile treatments which have grown into an entire family of products was invented and discovered by Patsy Sherman
born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1930 while working at the 3M company? One of the lab assistants accidentally dropped a glass bottle that contained a batch of synthetic latex she had made and some of the latex mixture splashed on the assistant's canvas tennis shoes. Patsy Sherman and her colleague, Sam Smith, were working on another project when they observed that the accidental spill on the white tennis shoe would not wash off nor would solvent remove it.
But the most amazing thing was the area where the solvent splashed resisted soiling. They recognized the commercial potential of its application to fabrics during manufacture and by the consumer at home.

Scotchgard was first sold in 1956, however, Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith obtained the U.S. patent in 1973, for the method for treating carpets, now known as Scotchgard. The name Scotchgard is a combination of the words Scotch and a misspelling of the word guard.

Patsy Sherman was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 1983. Patsy Sherman and Sam Smith jointly hold 13 patents in fluorochemical polymers and polymerization processes.

So go ahead and put your feet up… the dirt will wash off.