Good stuff
Here’s a part of my conversation with my retired LEO buddy;
“Many years ago, I read a book by John Brunner. It was either “Stand
on Zanzibar” or “The Sheep Look up.” In it, the police wore gloves
made from “Karatand,” just a made up fabric by the writer. I was
intrigued by the possibilities, and tried to figure out a way to
accomplish what Karatand did. Basically, it stayed soft and flexible
until an officer slugged somebody,,, then it became hard as a rock.
I realized this could be done by putting pockets of Silly Putty onto
the gloves in the “impact” area of one’s fist. Gloves would have to
be fairly well-padded, but it would be like getting hit with a brick.
That got me interested in Non-Newtonian fluids, and colloidal
fluids. It was fun watching the Mythbusters experiment with them!”