Thursday, March 31, 2011

Body armor made from bananas

Srlsy:
Brazilian scientists have developed a way of using fibers from bananas, pineapples and other plants to create plastic that is stronger and lighter than the petroleum-based stuff. So-called nanocellulose fibers rival Kevlar in strength but are renewable, and the researchers believe they could be widely used within a couple of years.

“The properties of these plastics are incredible,” Alcides Leão, a researcher at Sao Paulo State University, said in a statement. “They are light, but very strong — 30 percent lighter and three to four times stronger.”
Not to mention yummy, and a great source for your body's daily potassium needs!

But banana armor does have a downside:

5 comments:

  1. This is absolutely one of my favorite Python skits. The banana armor might be proof against fruit, but what if someone attacks with a pointed stick?

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  2. Now wait for an external study to be done which says that these scientists overestimated, used falsified data and are in the pocket of some eco-fanatic group...

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  3. You'll die from all the Banana radiation!

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  4. I prefer to keep food for eating. When I was a teenager, you could get 100 corn tortillas for 99¢. Then they discovered corn was good for fuel.

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  5. I think I remember something about Alexander the Great using a form of body armor made from flax and linseed oil. Kinda like a traditional linoleum.

    The only problem I can see is that it'd burn, really well, if exposed to an ignition source.

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