You'd Never Guess Where DayGlo Paint Was Invented

If you picture two teenagers passing time in a dark basement, leisurely experimenting with chemicals, you might think of the 1970s. I can pull up many memories of just that scenario. You wouldn't be surprised that they had fluorescent paint down there. The very first fluorescent paint, in fact. 

But all this happened in the 1930s, and they weren't hanging out in the basement because they were hiding anything. Bob and Joe Switzer knew a few things about color, chemicals, and light, but even they were surprised at what they developed in their home darkroom. They ended up starting their own company to market DayGlo paint, and eventually struck a partnership with the Sherwin-Williams paint company. DayGlo paint found its way into home products, art, and construction. It was only later that other teenagers used it to illuminate dark basements. Read the story of how that all started at Smithsonian. -via Damn Interesting