Bill wrote:
I've heard plenty about teflon being invented for the space program,
I
think the story is that it was invented as wiring insulation for the
Mercury capsule, but with the recent press stuff about it, I've seen
reports that it was actually invented in the '30s. Which is it?

A good rule of thumb is that, contrary to popular myth, very few new
technologies were invented by/for the space program.

And of course, also contrary to myth, we don't need to believe such
nonsense in order to rationalise space exploration. We can justify it
simply by agreeing, as a society, that exploration is something we want
to do with our resources.

-Mark Martin