Delaware is the origin state for many well-known products and inventions.
Chemical company DuPont is responsible for several key inventions, including Teflon, Nylon, and Kevlar.
The state has contributed to space exploration through the creation of space suits by ILC Dover.
Delaware may be the First State, but it’s also the second smallest behind Rhode Island.
Although we occupy only about 2,490 square miles with just over 1 million residents, Delaware has still made a significant impact on life across America, aside from being the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
Over the years, numerous well-known products have been invented or manufactured in Delaware ― and many still are.
Here are some of the best things currently made or invented in Delaware. You’re welcome, America!
Scrapple
Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it’s a Delaware staple and has been since 1926 when RAPA Scrapple was founded. Based in Bridgeville, it’s the largest producer of scrapple in the world and the best-selling scrapple brand in the U.S. And if that’s not enough, Habbersett, originally founded in Pennsylvania, is also manufactured by RAPA’s parent company of RAPA, Jones Dairy Farm, in Bridgeville. That’s a lot of pig snouts!
Hot Wheels Double Dare Loop
From New Castle-based Staging Dimensions, the company’s life-sized loop is a 66-foot-tall stunt track that races cars at 52 mph and 7 Gs at the X Games in Los Angeles, California.
Teflon
One of DuPont’s most profitable products is the indestructible Teflon, a surprise discovery during an experiment in 1938. A PFAS or “forever chemical,” it is used in everything from non-stick cookware and fabric protection to cosmetics and clothing irons. It has also been the subject of environmental/health lawsuits and major settlements by the company.
Space suits
The International Latex Corporation, now known as ILC Dover, was a division of Playtex and best known for making bras. That was until they helped NASA’s Neil Armstrong walk on the moon in 1969. The company won the contract to create the space suits for Apollo 11’s mission (and many more since) with seamstresses in Delaware doing much of the work. The Frederica-based company has made suits worn on six moon landings, experienced more than 250 flights and endured more than 3,000 hours of spacewalks without a single failure.
Handheld Raman Spectrometer
This Wilmington-made invention by Agilent Technologies uses innovative technology to detect hazardous substances through barriers, making it especially useful for first responders dealing with explosives, chemicals and narcotics.
Nylon
The first nylon was made in 1935 at the DuPont Experimental Station in Alapocas by chemist Wallace Carothers. The versatile, synthetic plastic is used in many products from automotive parts, clothing and industrial equipment to electronics, spatulas and guitar strings.
Affinity credit cards
Created in 1983 by MBNA, branded affinity cards have largely replaced the boring standard design on credit cards for many. They are co-branded cards where the financial institution partners with university, sports team or other organization. The non-proft Ducks Unlimited was an early partner with MBNA’s first affinity cards.
Tyvek
It was 1955 when a white polyethylene substance now known as Tyvek was also a surprise discovery at the DuPont Experimental Station in Alapocas. Tyvek is used in protective gear, industrial packaging and many other products. It’s best known for use in residential construction as a branded house wrap, which prevents water and air from entering a home, but at the same time allows water and vapor to escape, preventing rot and mold.
Gore-Tex
Invented in 1969 by W. L. Gore & Associates in Newark, the waterproof, breathable fabric repels water. It’s used in outdoor apparel and gear, as well as personal protective equipment for first responders and the military.
Ice cream
Aunt Sallie Shadd, a freed slave who lived in Wilmington, owned a catering business making a popular frozen mixture of fruit, cream and sugar. Legend has it that first lady Dolly Madison was impressed with Shadd’s strawberry ice cream and served it at President James Madison’s second inaugural ball in 1813. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s proclaimed her “America’s first Founding Mother of Ice Cream.”
Kevlar
Developed by DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek in 1965 in anticipation of a gasoline shortage, the durable, heat-resistant synthetic fiber was initially developed to make strong, but lightweight tires. Five times stronger than steel, it is now used in many products, including body armor.
Lycra
Another DuPont brand: Lycra is a synthetic elastic fiber material, best known as spandex in clothing and other products. It’s durable, resilient and supremely elastic, perfect for sportswear, bathing suits, underwear and more.
Automobile
Newport-born Oliver Evans invented the Oruktor Amphibolos, a crude, steam-powered amphibious vehicle designed for dredging, believed to be the first automobile
Forensic Workstations
TALINO Forensic Workstations are designed and built in Magnolia to help law enforcement, military and top corporate firms solve digital crimes with stand-out speed and efficiency.
Multi-touch
The multi-touch screen technology integral to Apple’s iPhone was gained by the acquisition of Newark’s FingerWorks, founded by UD student/professor team of John Elias and Wayne Westerman in 1998. They produced a line of multi-touch products, including the iGesture Pad and the TouchStream keyboard, which became the basis for the iPhone touchscreen.