Science: Good Fishing

Because nylon is stronger than cotton or linen and does not rot, Brownell & Co., Inc. of Moodus, Conn, started making nylon fish nets. To test their new product, Brownell made composite gill nets three miles long with alternate sections of nylon, cotton and linen. When the nets were tried in the Great Lakes, the nylon sections caught twelve times as many fish as the others did.

No one knows why. One theory: the thin nylon cords are almost invisible in the water. Another: nylon, which sheds slimy growths, holds the fish more firmly. Still another possibility: the shiny nylon glitters...

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