History
At the turn of the 20th century, oiled silk was used as a waterproofing medium in adult clothing, but not until latex rubber was commercially available from the 1920s did the idea of wearing a protective garment became commonplace. Ladies panties were worn with a waterproof latex crotch insert or a waterproof panel in the back of an underskirt, to make coping with heavy periods easier and socially safer. The original diaper covers were made from oiled wool, which was naturally waterproof. Newly available latex pants for covering diapers reduced the difficulties in caring for young children on long journeys, on special social occasions, and overnight.
During the 1950s, plastics, mainly PVC, replaced latex on account of their lower cost, ease of maintenance, and lack of noise when handled. However, the history of these garments has influenced their modern names: “Rubber pants” and “Rubbers” are used commonly to mean waterproof pants of all kinds, even though they are typically now made of plastic rather than latex.
The invention of superabsorbent polymers (for diapers and incontinence pads), and of blood-gelling polymers (for sanitary pads) largely displaced traditional cloth diapers and pads. Not only were these modern absorbent materials lighter and less bulky, but they became available as an “all-in-one” solution with its own integral waterproof plastic backing. This eliminated the need for separate waterproof underwear in many situations. Nevertheless, waterproof pants are still used as a second line of defense where absolute protection from leakage is crucial.
Read more about this topic: Plastic Pants
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“Modern Western thought will pass into history and be incorporated in it, will have its influence and its place, just as our body will pass into the composition of grass, of sheep, of cutlets, and of men. We do not like that kind of immortality, but what is to be done about it?”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“Postmodernism is, almost by definition, a transitional cusp of social, cultural, economic and ideological history when modernism’s high-minded principles and preoccupations have ceased to function, but before they have been replaced with a totally new system of values. It represents a moment of suspension before the batteries are recharged for the new millennium, an acknowledgment that preceding the future is a strange and hybrid interregnum that might be called the last gasp of the past.”
—Gilbert Adair, British author, critic. Sunday Times: Books (London, April 21, 1991)