The Unexpected Inventions of WWI BORN IN THE TRENCHES
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BOOTS CANDLES CARNATION FURNACE GARNET HOCKEY INSULATE JANUS OPPOSITE RESOLUTION
World War I doesn’t usually make people think of fashion or fitness. The images that often come to mind are mud, wire, and smoke. However, while the war tore borders apart, there were inventions developed that found their way into everyday life. Take the trench coat, for example. Officers needed something lighter than wool when they were slogging through wet ground. London retailers Burberry and Aquascutum designed coats that kept the rain out and had straps for gear. They worked so well that people wore them long after the fighting stopped and never went out of style. The same shift happened with watches. Before the war, women mostly wore wristwatches, and men carried pocket watches on chains. A pocket watch worked fine for civilian life but not while fighting a battle in the trenches. Strapping a watch to the wrist freed up both hands, which made a big difference in combat. Once the habit formed, pocket watches never really came back. Shortages also created new products. Cotton was hard to get, so Kimberly-Clark developed Cellucotton for bandages. Nurses noticed it worked as a makeshift sanitary pad, which led to Kotex. A few years later, the same material was sold in a thinner form as Kleenex, first as a makeup remover and eventually as the tissue we all know. The zipper was also useful during wartime. Known then as the “hookless fastener,” it was sewn into money belts and flight suits. It beat rows of buttons for speed, and the design spread into everyday clothing once the war ended. Even Pilates has roots in that era. Joseph Pilates, a German held in Britain, made resistance gear out of bed springs so men stuck in camp hospitals could stay strong. His idea for keeping people moving became a fitness program that later took over gyms worldwide. It’s strange to think that the same war that brought barbed wire and poison gas also left behind coats, watches, tissues, and a form of exercise. These items have become so integrated into daily life that most people never guess where they started. That’s the odd legacy of World War I.
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